WEBVTT

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Okay, so you know how spring used to be like

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clockwork? And then boom, the sniffles hit, the

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itchy eyes started, yeah. But lately it feels

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like those allergy things are, they're like starting

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earlier and then they just won't quit, right?

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It does seem that way, doesn't it? Like you're

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not imagining it. Welcome to the Meteorology

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Matters podcast. We dig into all the science

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stuff happening up there in the atmosphere. And

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today we are gonna untangle this whole. of climate

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change and what it's doing to your allergies.

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Yeah, that's right. We're gonna really look at

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how all that warming and shifts in the environment,

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those are not only making the pollen seasons

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longer, they're upping the pollen production

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and making those reactions, you get maybe even

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worse. Yeah, and you've brought some really interesting

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research with you. We want to make sure everyone

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listening gets like the key takeaways. What does

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this mean for your health, your everyday life?

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Stick with us because you might be surprised

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by some of this. And for even more on these topics,

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make sure you're following meteorologist Rob

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Jones, Instagram meteorologist on TikTok, TV

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meteorologist and on YouTube, follow Rob Jones

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Hurricane, where you can also find the Meteorology

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Matters podcast playlist. All right. So this

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whole thing about allergy season, feeling like

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a marathon, not a sprint. Is that is there science

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backing that up? Yeah, you're actually spot -on

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It's amazing how what you're noticing it just

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out in the world lines up with what we're seeing

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in the research You know those warmer winters

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we've been having they're making spring come

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earlier fall starts later And that means a longer

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stretch without a frost so plants have more time

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to grow and well more time to pump out pollen

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So I'm not going crazy. It's not just me. There's

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actual like data. Oh, yeah There are studies

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showing pollen seasons all across North America

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They're starting something like 20 days earlier

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compared to back in the 1990s. That's a big jump.

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And it's not just that they're starting sooner,

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they're lasting longer too in a lot of places.

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And is this for all types of pollen, or is it

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just like, I keep thinking about ragweed. Ragweed

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is a great example, actually. There is research

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that looked at ragweed pollen seasons at 11 different

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spots in the central US and Canada, going all

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the way back to 1995. And you know what? What?

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The season's gotten longer at 10 of those 11

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places. And here's the kicker that increases

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even more noticeable the further north you go.

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More in the north. I wouldn't have guessed that.

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Yeah, it seems counterintuitive at first but

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it makes sense when you think about it. You see

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up north They've had even bigger changes in that

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frost free period and the first frost to fall

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that's happening way later now that later frost

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that lines up perfectly with that Longer ragweed

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season like in Winnipeg their ragweed season.

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That's about 25 days longer now Saskatoon. It's

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about 24 Fargo 21 and Minneapolis 18 days longer

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Wow, those are some big increases a lot longer

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seasons. That's one thing but what about the

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the amount of pollen, is there more of that floating

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around too? That's the thing. Pollen levels across

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the US, they've gone up about 21 % between 1990

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and 2018. So yeah, there's more of it. And it's

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likely because of those higher temperatures and

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all that extra carbon dioxide we're putting in

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the air. So the same stuff that's messing with

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the climate is making our allergies worse. Exactly.

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Warmer weather means bigger plants, generally

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speaking. And carbon dioxide, well, it actually

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helps. plants do photosynthesis better, they

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need less energy to take in CO2, so they have

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more to put towards growing, and guess what?

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That includes making more pollen, so it's a double

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whammy, bigger plants with more flowers, and

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each flower is cranking out even more pollen

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than it used to. Not good news if you've got

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allergies, but I remember reading something about

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how, just like. The regular weather can make

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things worse, too, not just the temperature.

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Right, you are. You know how increased rain and

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changes in humidity can actually make your allergies

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feel worse? Yeah, I've noticed that. Well, those

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things are all tied to climate change, too. When

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pollen gets wet, it breaks down into these tiny

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little bits, and those can get way deeper into

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your lungs and cause stronger reactions. So a

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rainy day during allergy season doesn't always

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mean a break. Nope, not necessarily. Plus...

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Yeah, think about air quality, too. Air pollution

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that can mix with pollen and actually make it

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even worse for you. Oh, no. Burning fossil fuels,

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that's a big problem there. You're getting the

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CO2 that heats things up, but you're also getting

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all these other pollutants that irritate your

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airways and they can stick to pollen and make

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it more allergenic. So it's like a vicious cycle.

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More emissions mean more pollen, and we're more

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sensitive to it because of those emissions. Like

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this crazy domino effect. Right. And people with

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asthma, they're extra vulnerable to all of this.

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There's research showing that they're more sensitive

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to things like ozone, which is a really common

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air pollutant. Their allergies can even flare

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up worse after being around ozone. So this is

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kind of scary for our health. What kind of symptoms

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are we talking about here that might get worse

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or more common? You're probably familiar with

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the usual suspects with seasonal allergies. You

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know, runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, congestion,

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and that feeling of just... being wiped out,

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but it can go beyond that, especially for kids.

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How so? Kids can have a whole range of symptoms.

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They might get skin rashes like hives, they could

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have trouble breathing, they'll sneeze and cough

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a lot, watery or itchy eyes, and some even get

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like an upset stomach. Oh, wow. And it's not

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just the physical stuff. It can really mess with

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their ability to focus and do well in school.

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There's actually studies showing that kids might

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have trouble learning and their grades can even

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take a hit during those peak pollen times. Yeah,

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I bet a lot of parents can relate to that. And

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for adults, it's not just feeling lousy allergies

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can make other health problems worse, too, right?

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You got it. We already talked about asthma. Pollen

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is a big trigger for that. So more pollen can

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mean more shortness of breath, more chest tightness,

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wheezing. And in some cases, it can even land

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you in the ER and there's new research suggesting

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that allergies might actually make you more likely

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to get sick with viruses too because they make

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your airways inflamed. Oh wow. It's like your

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body's already fighting one battle so it can't

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fight off a virus as well and I remember you

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mentioning something about how pollen itself

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might be doing more than just setting off your

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immune system. Yeah I did see something about

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that. Well some studies are showing that pollen

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and other allergens they can actually damage

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the DNA in the cells lining your nose and lungs

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and that adds to that whole chronic problem.

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So it's not just a temporary annoyance it could

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be causing long -term damage. That's what the

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research is pointing to and when you add that

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to the link between pollen and asthma attacks

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it's a little scary. We already think something

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like 35 ,000 to 60 ,000 ER visits every year

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are because of pollen and some experts think

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that number could jump by 14 % by 2090 if things

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keep going the way they are. Those are huge numbers

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and I imagine all these health impacts have to

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cost a lot of money too. They do. In the U .S.

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alone, we spend over $3 billion every year on

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medical costs just because of pollen. One study

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from 2011 put the cost of treating seasonal allergies

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at about $3 .4 billion annually, and that's just

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the direct medical costs, right? It doesn't even

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include things like missed work because you're

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not feeling well. Right, prison teism and all

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that. Yeah. You're at work or school, but you're

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not really functioning at 100 % because you feel

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so crummy from allergies. There's a study in

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Sweden that showed just how much allergies cost

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in terms of lost productivity, missed work, health

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care costs. It's a big problem. So those 3 .8

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million missed work and school days because of

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allergies, that's probably just the tip of the

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iceberg. It's a massive problem for sure. Are

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some people more at risk than others? Sadly,

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yes. There are some groups that get hit harder

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by all of this black and brown communities. We

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often live in areas with more air pollution,

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and that means they're dealing with both more

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pollen and worse air quality, which just compounds

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the problem. So that's a real environmental justice

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issue. We've been talking about pollen in general,

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but are there any specific types that are really

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bad for people with allergies? Like ragweed.

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Ragweed, that's a huge one. It's everywhere,

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and it's a major trigger for both hay fever and

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asthma attacks. Researchers estimate about 15

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.5 % of people in the U .S. are sensitive to

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ragweed pollen. And that's getting worse with

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climate change, right? Absolutely. Ragweed plants,

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they usually start to mature in midsummer and

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then they release pollen that peaks in late summer,

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early fall. It keeps going until the first frost

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hits. And here's the crazy part. A single ragweed

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plant can produce a billion pollen grains in

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one season. A billion. just from one plant. Yep.

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And like we talked about, warmer weather, more

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carbon dioxide that makes those plants produce

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even more pollen. There's even some research

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suggesting that the pollen itself becomes more

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allergenic in these changed conditions. And get

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this, cities can actually have even more ragweed

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growth and pollen than rural areas because of

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the urban heat island effect. Cities are just

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warmer and they also tend to have higher levels

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of carbon dioxide. There was a study in Baltimore

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that showed ragweed in the city grew faster and

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produced more pollen than ragweed out in the

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countryside. So if you live in a city, you're

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getting a double whammy with ragweed. You're

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exposed to it for longer, and that pollen might

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even be stronger. This is all pretty discouraging

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for people with allergies. Are there any places

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in the US that are better for allergy sufferers?

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Good question. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation

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of America, they actually rank U .S. cities based

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on how bad they are for people with allergies.

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They look at pollen counts, over -the -counter

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medication use, and how many allergy specialists

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are in the area. Okay, and what do they find?

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Well, for the third year in a row, Wichita, Kansas,

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that took the top spot as the worst city for

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allergies in 2024, mainly because they have really

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high tree and grass pollens, New Orleans jumped

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way up to number two this year. Probably because

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of a longer weed pollen season, thanks to all

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the moisture from hurricanes and the unusually

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warm fall, they had cities in the Midwest and

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Southeast. They tend to rank higher because of

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the warmer weather and all the plants that grow

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there. How about the best cities? Several cities

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in the northeast like Boston, they were among

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the least challenging in 2024. That might be

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because they had lower pollen counts this year,

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maybe due to drought conditions, and they also

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have better access to medical care, especially

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allergy specialists. Washington DC ranked low

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too, mostly because they have a ton of allergists,

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even though their pollen levels are about average.

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It's interesting how much the availability of

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doctors plays a role. And didn't California have

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some crazy pollen levels last year? They did.

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Yeah, a lot of urban areas in California that

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usually have low pollen, they saw way higher

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counts than normal, most likely. That was because

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of all the rain they had, including those atmospheric

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rivers. It really boosted plant growth. So both

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the long -term climate changes and the short

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-term weather patterns, they're both shaking

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things up for allergies. And we keep coming back

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to cities as being especially bad. Why is that?

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A couple of reasons. First, all that air pollution

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in cities, it can irritate your airways and actually

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make your immune system more sensitive to pollen

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so you react more strongly. Second, there's that

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urban heat island effect we talked about. Cities

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are warmer than the surrounding areas, and that

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helps plants grow bigger and release pollen for

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longer periods like we saw with that Baltimore

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study, city ragweed was thriving. So to recap,

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it's pretty clear that climate change is making

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seasonal allergies a much bigger and longer lasting

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problem. Absolutely. And we talked about how

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that warmer climate is leading to longer, more

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intense pollen seasons with higher pollen counts.

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And that can really make your allergy symptoms

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flare up and have bigger impacts on your health

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and even the economy. It's not just some abstract

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science thing this is impacting your daily life,

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how you feel in the spring and fall, your ability

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to focus and get things done. It's real. Right.

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And while we need to tackle climate change for

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long term solutions, there are things you can

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do right now to manage your allergies, things

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like checking your local pollen forecast, keeping

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your windows closed when pollen counts are high,

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maybe getting an air purifier for your home,

00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:34.019
and talking to an allergist about medications

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or allergy shots. Great advice. And for more

00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:39.580
info, and to keep up with all the latest on meteorology

00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:42.120
and how our climate is changing, make sure you're

00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:44.860
following Meteorologist Rob Jones, Instagram

00:11:44.860 --> 00:11:48.840
Meteorologist, on TikTok, TV Meteorologist, and

00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:51.279
on YouTube, follow Rob Jones Hurricane, where

00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:53.600
you can also find the Meteorology Matters podcast

00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:57.019
playlist. It's amazing to think that something

00:11:57.019 --> 00:11:59.860
as familiar as seasonal allergies is being so

00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:02.279
drastically affected by our environment Makes

00:12:02.279 --> 00:12:04.240
you wonder what other parts of our lives that

00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.620
we take for granted are more connected to climate

00:12:06.620 --> 00:12:08.940
change than we realize you got it That's it for

00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:10.559
today. Thanks for listening to the meteorology

00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:12.340
matters podcast. We'll see you next time. See

00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:12.980
you later. Bye