climate change

Rising Ragweed Pollen: Why Fall Allergies in the U.S. Are Getting Worse

September 23, 2025

Every fall, ragweed pollen has long been a familiar culprit behind sneezing, congestion, and itchy eyes. But lately, it’s not just the symptoms that are changing—it’s the season itself. Rising ragweed pollen levels are making allergy season longer, more intense, and harder to escape. What…

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Rising Ragweed Pollen: Why Fall Allergies in the U.S. Are Getting Worse

Earth Day and Climate Change Effects

April 18, 2022

Earth Day is this Friday, April 22nd. Earth Day is truly a mainstay in American culture, created by Past-President Richard Nixon. This year the Earth Day theme is “Invest in Our Planet”. We are called upon to have “unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, our…

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Earth Day and Climate Change Effects

2018 forecasts call for longer allergy seasons

March 12, 2018

American allergy sufferers have come to know what to expect throughout the year – oak in spring; grass over the late spring and early summer months; ragweed in late summer through autumn; cedar in fall through winter – as their fluctuating symptoms follow the changing of the seasons. Recent years,…

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8 Summer Miseries Made Worse by Global Warming, From Poison Ivy to Allergies

July 1, 2014

With average global temperatures expected to rise more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) over the coming decades, a new report from a leading U.S. environmental group warns that future summers are likely to be filled with more misery, from more prolific poison ivy and biting insects…

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How Climate Change Is Making Allergies Worse

May 8, 2014

Thanks to all the pollen in the air, I spent the last few weeks coughing, wheezing and blowing my nose. Austin is infamous for bad allergy seasons. We have three of them: fall, winter, and spring. In the summer, it’s too hot for pollen (but the heat gives me something else to complain about). Other…

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The Polar Vortex Is to Blame for This Year’s Brutal Allergy Season

April 16, 2014

Those cold snaps helped spawn a spring allergy season so intense that it already has its own headline-ready nickname: the "pollen vortex." One week ago, I purchased the first asthma inhaler I've owned since the 8th grade. I'd shown up at my doctor's office short of breath, and a lung function test…

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From ‘Potent’ Pollen to Double Whammy Allergy Seasons: How Climate Change Could Affect Seasonal Allergies

May 28, 2013

Climate changes and rising carbon dioxide levels don't just affect the environment. Experts say they also affect your nose. Warmer temperatures and higher carbon dioxide levels mean certain plants will thrive, and those are the plants that tend to make us sneeze during allergy season.

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Global warming brings on more pollen

March 15, 2013

With global warming, temperature extremes are becoming a norm -- and that's bad news for allergy sufferers. In a single century, our planet went from one of the coldest decades since the last ice age to one of the hottest. That hasn't happened in the last 11,300 years, according to a recent study…

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Has Climate Change Increased Seasonal Allergies?

July 31, 2011

A recent study suggests that severe seasonal changes may lead to higher levels of outdoor airborne allergens and increased allergy susceptibility.

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5 Ways Americans’ Allergies Are Getting Worse

May 27, 2011

Allergies are going nowhere but up. One in five Americans now suffer from allergies, accounting for 17 million doctors appointments and 30,000 emergency room visits each year. And the numbers are on the rise, according to a large new study from the medical testing and information company Quest…

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