The report highlights the link between allergens and thunderstorms, which researchers say spread pollen and mold spores through the air more efficiently. “So now we’re dealing with mold at a time of year that we typically wouldn’t.”Ĭasey also pointed out that the climate crisis is making extreme precipitation more likely, which provides that crucial dampness for mold to grow. “With climate change, we’re seeing increases in warming in all seasons, but particularly the fastest warming season for most locations across the US is the winter season,” Casey said. While outdoor mold is not as well-studied as pollen, according to the report, one thing is clear: Warmer and wetter weather – conditions that many locations are seeing more of amid the climate crisis – is favorable for mold development.Īllergy season will start much earlier than normal and be far more intense because of climate crisis, study suggests Mold, a type of fungi that reproduces with tiny airborne spores, can also be allergenic for some people and can exacerbate seasonal allergies, according to the report. Plant pollen isn’t the only trigger of seasonal allergies. So, as spring seasons get warmer earlier due to climate change, plants could pollinate much earlier and for a longer period of time than they currently do. Wind-driven pollen, which plays an important role in plant fertilization, is closely tied to temperature and precipitation changes. As temperatures get warmer in the South and drought plagues the Southwest, pollen from plants like ragweed or poaceae – a plant that typically grows in grasslands or salt-marshes – is projected to be higher across those regions than in the North. Climate CentralĪ longer and earlier start to pollen season could trigger a public health emergency, researchers say. Growing season has lengthened by 20 days in Washington, DC, according to a Climate Central analysis. The center’s data shows that more than one in four adults suffered from seasonal allergies in 2021. More than 24 million people in the US have pollen-induced respiratory allergies like hay fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pollen grains are small enough to be inhaled, and some people’s immune systems react very poorly to the miniscule particles. When plants reproduce, typically during the spring, many release tiny pollen grains that are carried by wind. “Pollen can also trigger an asthma attack, which of course is much more serious for people that suffer from asthma.” “Because of climate change, we’re now seeing an earlier and longer growing season for plants, which of course make pollen, which is the enemy of many Americans that suffer from pollen allergies – and mold allergies as well,” Lauren Casey, a meteorologist with Climate Central, told CNN. Growing season in the US has lengthened by 15 days on average, according to a Climate Central analysis. Reno, Nevada, for example, has seen a shocking increase of 99 days.Īnd a longer growing season means a longer allergy season. In the West, growing season is 27 days longer on average, Climate Central reported. It found that on average, the growing season – the period between the last freeze in spring to the first freeze of fall – is lasting 16 days longer in the Southeast, 15 days longer in the Northeast and 14 days longer in the South. And a study from the journal Nature published last year found that pollen count is projected to increase by 200% by the end of the century if planet-warming pollution continues to rise.Ĭlimate Central, a nonprofit focused on climate news and research, recently analyzed how warmer temperatures have affected allergy season in 203 US cities since 1970. As the planet warms, researchers say allergy season is starting earlier and lasting longer. Farther north in Washington, DC, allergy sufferers have been dreading the lime-green film of pollen covering that covers windshields and porches and piles up on streets and sidewalks.īut these aren’t isolated trends. In Atlanta, the pollen count sky rocketed to “extremely high” in early March and stayed high through much of April, according to the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma physicians practice. Pollen has exploded to eye-watering levels this spring in some parts of the country after warm weather pushed plants out of their winter slumber much earlier than normal.
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