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Articles
Allergy season is getting more intense with climate change — we’re creating better pollen forecasts to help. Yingxiao Zhang and Allison Steiner, The Conversation, April 20, 2023.
In a 2022 study, we found that the U.S. will face up to a 200% increase in total pollen this century if the world continues producing carbon dioxide emissions at a high rate. Pollen season in general will start up to 40 days earlier in the spring and last up to 19 days longer than today under that scenario.
‘In every breath we take’: How climate change impacts pollen allergies. Samantha Harrington, Yale Climate Connections, April 19, 2023.
With warmer winter temperatures, the frost-free season starts earlier in the spring and ends later in the fall. In Anderegg’s research on pollen seasons in North America, he saw pollen seasons starting about 20 days earlier than they did in the 1990s.
Pollen counts have also been increasing in the U.S. Anderegg’s research found about a 21% increase in pollen concentrations from 1990 to 2018.
Allergies are getting worse with climate change. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, April 11, 2023.
Global warming causing earlier, more intense allergy seasons. Jim Morelli, Boston 25 News, March 30, 2023. (Article and video.)
Climate change is making pollen season even worse across the country. Kasha Patel, Washington Post, March 29, 2022.
Yes, allergy seasons are getting worse. Blame climate change. Paul Gabrielsen, University of Utah, Feb. 8, 2021. (Also reprinted by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.)
Climate Change Indicators: Ragweed Pollen Season. US Environmental Protection Agency, 2016.
Warmer temperatures and increased carbon dioxide concentrations also enable ragweed and other plants to produce more allergenic pollen, in larger quantities. This means that many locations could experience longer allergy seasons and higher pollen counts as a result of climate change.
Research
Anderegg, William RL, et al. “Anthropogenic climate change is worsening North American pollen seasons.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118.7 (2021): e2013284118.
Singh, A. B., and Pawan Kumar. “Climate change and allergic diseases: An overview.” Frontiers in Allergy 3 (2022): 964987.
Zhang, Yingxiao, and Allison L. Steiner. “Projected climate-driven changes in pollen emission season length and magnitude over the continental United States.” Nature communications 13.1 (2022): 1234.
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