Climate Change and Pollen

Climate change is driven by increased levels of carbon dioxide and pollutants in the atmosphere.  Thinking back to your grade school biology, you may remember that we breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, but plants do the opposite.  Plants use the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to “breathe” and release oxygen as a by-product of their metabolism.  It turns out that plants really like it when there is more carbon dioxide in the air!  In greenhouse experiments, increasing carbon dioxide levels has increased pollen production by 61% to 90% in some types of ragweed.  Another study has shown that a doubling in carbon dioxide levels, from about 300 to 600 parts-per-million, induces an approximately four-fold increase in the production of ragweed pollen.  Similar studies have shown equally troubling results in birch trees.  More pollen means more symptoms.  The impact of climate change on our pollen counts does not stop there, though.  With increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, surface temperature rises.  A “mild” winter means an early start to the allergy season as the trees will pollinate sooner than if the winter had sustained colder temperatures.  This is not experimental-we are actually seeing a trend of longer pollen seasons over the last 30 years.  Longer pollen seasons then lead to an increase in allergy symptoms, including nasal congestion, itchy eyes, and asthma.  There are many reasons to fear climate change, but this is one that is not often reported- as pollution and temperature increase, so do your allergy symptoms.  While we might not be able to reverse the environmental changes that have already occurred, we at Allergy Consultants are always here to help alleviate your symptoms.