"“We know that climate change is leading to greater amounts of pollen in the atmosphere,” says Paul Beggs, an environmental health scientist and professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, who published a 2024 paper on the link between climate change and asthma. “It's changing the seasonality of the pollen. It's changing the types of pollen that we're exposed to.”"
"“The data is clear, and millions of seasonal allergy sufferers have noticed the changes,” AccuWeather climate expert and senior meteorologist Brett Anderson says. “The seasonal allergy season in America is expanding at both ends.”"
"Dr. Rebecca Saff, an allergist and immunologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, agrees that long gone are the days when allergies were restricted to merely spring or fall. As global warming creates shorter, milder winters and warmer springs, those allergy seasons start earlier and continue later."
"“Later frost dates mean the allergy season is ending later in many places,” says Anderson. “When warmth and moisture align, trees, grass and weeds can produce more pollen more often.”"
Climate change increases pollen amounts in the atmosphere and alters pollen season timing and composition. Warmer temperatures and shorter, milder winters cause allergy seasons to start earlier and continue later. Later frost dates extend the season, while warmth and moisture can increase how often trees, grass, and weeds produce pollen. Forecasts for the U.S. predict more high-pollen days due to storms and temperature swings. Research also projects pollen seasons starting about 40 days earlier and ending about 15 days later by the end of the century. Warmer conditions can shift plant ranges northward, bringing new allergens such as ragweed and other pollen sources to regions where they were previously less common.
Read at Fast Company
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