NEXT AVENUE SPECIAL SECTION
Beware Allergy Sufferers: The Season Is Longer and More Intense By Craig Miller
Lew Ziska was a freshman in college when he realized he had a bigger problem than he thought with his seasonal allergies. "It was spring. I could not breathe,” recalls the 65-year-old college professor. “Having a 600-pound gorilla sitting on your chest is not a joke. You feel like you're going to die." Ziska now knows the "gorilla" was a severe asthma attack triggered by spring allergies. He's one of the tens of millions of Americans – including one in four adults – who suffer from seasonal allergies. It may seem ironic (or fitting) that he went on to become a plant physiologist at Columbia University, where he now studies the link between climate change and allergies. Unfortunately, however, the news from the research front is not good. A March 2023 report from Princeton-based Climate Central calls the rise in outdoor allergies a "significant threat to human health." The report affirms, "A growing body of research shows that warming temperatures, shifting seasonal patterns and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere — all linked to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions — are affecting the length and intensity of allergy season in the U.S." While the news is bad for allergy sufferers "across the board," the climate impacts could pose a greater risk to older adults. "For the older population, if you suffer from COPD or if you have other respiratory ailments, I think this is something that could exacerbate conditions that are already pre-existing," Ziska says.
longer growing season, the higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the air from burning fossil fuels act like a steroid for pollen production. Even thunderstorms, also expected to increase in some areas, can exacerbate allergies. Though Ziska says the exact mechanism needs more study, the pressure dynamics around thunderstorms tend to mince up pollen particles and whip them into a frenzy. The Climate Central report points to a phenomenon called "thunderstorm asthma." The report explains, "studies have shown high pollen and mold counts around thunderstorms correlate with increased asthma symptoms and hospital admissions."
There are several climate connections to worsening outdoor allergies. Apart from the
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