Sniffles sneezes, and itchy eyes are becoming a year-round issue for millions of Americans as allergy seasons across the country extend well beyond their historical norms. Data compiled and analyzed by Climate Central, an independent organization of scientists and journalists, highlights a dire situation where, since 1970, 164 U.S. cities have seen a dramatic increase in allergy season duration due to a warming climate, as reported by KXAN.
Las Cruces, New Mexico, takes a particularly hard hit, with allergy seasons there now 65 days longer than they were half a century ago. However, El Paso, Texas, isn't faring much better. The city has seen its allergy season jump to roughly 47 days longer. Experts point to the lack of hard freezes to slow down pollen production as a key reason—fewer chilly days mean an extended time for plants to make your life miserable. To make matters even more concerning, it's not just the length of the season—to further rub salt in the wound, it's been shown that rising carbon dioxide levels cause certain plants like ragweed to grow larger and produce even more pollen, according to The Hill covered by Nexstar.
This nationwide trend seems to buck, however, for about 30 cities, where allergy seasons have become shorter. Ottumwa, Iowa, is seeing its seasonal sniffles diminish by around 19 days. It might sound like a silver lining, but the reasons behind this reverse trend are complex and not entirely understood. "I think of global warming as a big umbrella. We're seeing our global average temperatures increasing over time due to carbon pollution, but the effect of that is climate change. And that doesn't always necessarily just mean warming in a given location. It has all sorts of different and cascading effects," meteorologist Lauren Casey explained in a statement obtained by KXAN.
While the South and Southeast have their own unique challenges in gauging allergy season lengths due to rare freezes, some cities like Waco, Texas, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Macon, Georgia, are seeing significant reductions in their respective pollen-plagued periods. In a turn of events, some might not have expected, cities traditionally known for severe allergies are seeing their seasons shortened. This only adds complexity to our understanding of how climate change is to continue to affect daily lives in unpredictable ways.
