There's Something in the Air: Allergies and Global Warming

Climate change may already be making life worse for you and the roughly 30 million to 40 million allergy sufferers nationwide, according to a study released earlier this year. Rising carbon dioxide levels are driving the growth of the plants that make us sneeze, wheeze and sniffle each spring, summer and fall.

We humans consider carbon dioxide to be an inconvenient truth about our addiction to fossil fuels, but to plants, carbon dioxide is breakfast, lunch and dinner. Via photosynthesis, plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to create the energy they need to grow.

Plants not only are growing more quickly and larger but are also making more pollen than they used to, and one study suggests that the pollen may be more allergenic. 
In addition to this carbon overdrive, warmer temperatures are triggering plants to release pollen earlier and survive longer, extending the overall allergy season. A study in Switzerland published in fall 2008 found that birch trees are, on average, releasing pollen 15 days earlier than they used to.

As designed by nature, trees pollinate in the spring, grasses in the summer and weeds in the fall. But now, pollination from these three are overlapping, causing suffering to increase in people whose allergies are triggered by more than one type of pollen. The warming climate is also extending the range of plants, allowing allergy-inducing species to spread into new areas of the world.

The link between global warming and allergies is not limited to hay fever. Some researchers suspect that higher carbon dioxide levels are responsible for a rapid rise in food allergies. Higher carbon dioxide is also boosting the growth of two species with toxic oils, poison ivy and poison oak, which affect two out of every three people who come in contact with them.

Climate change is not the only means by which human activity is helping allergy-related plants to thrive. Our land-use patterns are also helping. New construction disturbs the soil and provides the perfect conditions for the spread of pollen-producing weeds. Landscapers bring in nonnative plants that produce pollen. Cities like Tucson, Arizona were once havens for allergy sufferers, until developers started changing the desert landscape into an oasis using irrigation. The city now routinely appears on a list of the nation's "allergy capitals."

What you can do

Tell your elected officials to support cap-and-trade legislation and the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES).

Check daily pollen reports and air quality conditions, especially on sunny days with little or no wind, because these are the days when ozone concentrations can be especially high. When pollen or ozone levels are high, minimize your time outdoors, keep windows closed, and postpone your most strenuous outdoor activities for days with relatively low ozone levels. 

Wash bedding frequently to remove pollen that settles on pillows and sheets, and vacuum regularly, preferably with a vacuum cleaner that uses a high-efficiency particulate (HEPA) filter. Minimize your family's exposure to other known allergens because of the cumulative effect of multiple allergens in producing symptoms.

Photo credit: spakattacks / CC BY 2.0