A longer growing season means allergies are getting worse

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - No matter how you feel about the realities of climate change, scientists quoted in the March 15 journal Nature Communications said it’s clear that seasonal allergies are getting worse.

The authors of the study blame a longer allergy season on warmer temperatures. Climate researchers said their data shows that pollen season used to start around St. Patrick’s Day, but now gets underway around Valentine’s Day in many communities. Around here, where the climate is colder, those extended warmer temperatures are coming at the end of the growing season.

“Seems like the growing season is actually expanding, so in the spring we might have some cooler than normal temperatures the past several years, but in the fall it makes up that difference and actually adds to the growing season because we’re not seeing colder temperatures until later in the year. So we’re actually adding days, or growing days through the course of the entire year,” said KFYR-TV Chief Meteorologist, Kevin Lawrence.

Researchers from the University of Michigan also say there’s more pollen to contend with, due to more carbon dioxide in the air from burning fuels. They believe the situation will continue to get worse in the future, with pollen counts nearly tripling by the year 2100.