Climate change has begun to measurably and observably impact the world around us. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are causing damage to every continent on the planet. It’s also prompting couples to reimagine if, when, and/or how they will have children.
The effects of climate change vary greatly in severity, but even something as small as your glass of wine will be affected by climate change in the future. And now we’ve learned that your seasonal sniffling and sneezing could get significantly worse in the coming years as well.
According to a study published in October in Frontiers in Allergy, two potent allergens—ragweed and oak pollen—may start earlier in the season, last longer than normal, and become more widely distributed as the climate continues to change.
This information comes to us from a study conducted by the Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. Using computer models, researchers simulated how climate change will affect the distribution and potency of certain allergens. The study concluded that by 2050, the two most prevalent allergens will be more common in areas where pollen is currently uncommon.
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The researchers adapted a computer model called the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system, which is an open-source tool managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Alarmingly, even a moderate temperature increase resulted in significantly higher pollen concentrations.
According to the model, the Northeast and Southwest regions of the U.S. could see a 20% increase in ragweed and a 40% increase in oak pollen concentrations. Parts of Nevada and northern Texas could potentially experience a 100% increase in oak pollen by 2050, and Massachusetts and Virginia are predicted to have a 20 to 80% increase in airborne ragweed pollen by the same time.
Those who suffer from seasonal allergies or who have other chronic conditions like asthma are likely to suffer the negative health effects of a changing climate. Currently, more than 50 million people deal with various types of allergies. And of the 25 million people in the U.S. who have asthma, 60% of those have allergy-related asthma, making it the most common type.
However, even those without allergies or asthma will likely be affected by the increase in allergens. According to the study, pollen exposure can also increase susceptibility to respiratory viral infections like the flu and COVID-19.