- Experts say allergy seasons are getting stronger and longer.
- They say part of the reason is that climate change is putting more pollens into the air.
- They advise people with allergies to wear sunglasses when outside, shower after being outdoors, and keep windows closed when indoors.
Allergy season is getting longer and there’s more pollen in the air.
That’s bad news for people with seasonal allergies, and the situation is unlikely to improve until the climate stops warming, experts say.
A recent study found that pollen season increased by 20 days annually between 1990 and 2018, while pollen concentrations in North America increased 21 percent over the same time period.
The pollen in the air may also be increasingly potent and thus more allergenic, the study found.
Climate change “is the dominant driver of changes in pollen season length and a significant contributor to increasing pollen concentrations,” the study authors wrote. “Our results indicate that human-caused climate change has already worsened North American pollen seasons, and climate-driven pollen trends are likely to further exacerbate respiratory health impacts in coming decades.”
Dr. Stanley M. Fineman, an allergist and immunologist at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma and past president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), told Healthline that the findings reflect his experience of tracking pollen counts and treating people during 40 years of practice in Georgia.
“This is clearly a more severe allergy season than we’ve had in a long time,” said Fineman. “We’re seeing a lot of patients complaining of more symptoms and not being able to deal with them with the over-the-counter medications available. That’s due to it getting warmer earlier and a longer and more potent pollen season.”
Source: healthline