Why Are Allergies Getting Worse? New Report Confirms Climate Change Is The Reason
Millions of Americans are afraid of allergy seasons but now that is gonna last longer and are going to be more intense due to climate change. A new report by Climate Central confirms that with rising temperatures, the lengths of freeze-free growing seasons in the US have extended and with that came allergic reactions related to pollen released too early in spring and continued later into autumn.
A look at temperature records for 198 US cities finds that 87% (172 cities) have been witnessing longer freeze-free seasons since 1970, some by an average of 20 days. Reno has seen an extreme expansion of 96 extra days in that period. Most impacted are the Northwest and Southwest showing about 24 and 20 additional days to their growing seasons.
Heaving larger allergy potential than longer growing seasons, climate change ratchets up the actual pollen production. Higher carbon dioxide levels pretty well make plants grow more which leads to a speculation of up to a 200% of pollen production by the end of the century for review by a 2022 study.
With seasonal allergies affecting already one in four adults and one in five children, the worsening trend highlights the immediate need to address climate change. Diminishing carbon pollution could help reduce the severity of future allergy seasons.
