Pollen emissions may begin in the spring 40 days earlier than seen between 1995 and 2014 at the end of this century. Allergy patients may see that the season lasts another 19 days before high pollen counts may fall.
In addition, due to warming temperatures and elevated CO2 levels, the annual amount of pollen can rise to as much as 200 percent.
“Respiratory allergies caused by pollen are getting worse with climate change,” he said Yingxiao ZhangUM postgraduate student research assistant in climate and space sciences and technology.
“Our results could be a starting point for further research into the effects of climate change on pollen and similar health effects,” he added.
Researchers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs developed a predictive model that examines the 15 most common types of pollen and how predicted changes in temperature and rainfall will affect their products. They combined climate data and socio-economic scenarios to correlate their modeling with data from 1995–2014. They then used their model to predict pollen emissions over the last two decades of the 21st century.
Symptoms of allergies range from mild irritants such as watery eyes, sneezing or rashes to more serious conditions such as difficulty breathing or anaphylaxis. According to the American Asthma and Allergy Foundation, 30 percent of adults and 40 percent of children suffer from allergies in the United States.
Climate-producing grasses, weeds and trees are affected by climate change. Elevated temperatures cause them to activate earlier than their historical norms. Higher temperatures can also increase the amount of pollen produced.
Allison SteinerThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a professor of climate and space sciences and technology, said the modeling developed by his team could eventually enable allergy season predictions for different geographical areas.
“We hope to include our pollen emissions model in the national air quality forecasting system to provide better and climate-sensitive forecasts to the public,” he concluded.
Source: ANI
Source: The Nordic Page