Why Allergy Season is Worse Than Ever

One of the driving factors behind why many people (mostly conservative republicans) ignore the growing issue of climate change is because they claim they aren’t being affected directly. The intense storm surges, increase in wildfires, and devastating coastal flooding is just not significant to them. They still disconnect from what is happening in the environment because they themselves are not being affected.

But even this wall that conservative republicans are hiding behind might also be crumbling down. As climate change progressively gets worse so do the allergy and pollen seasons. About 50 million Americans alone suffer from allergies every year. And every year this number keeps rising.

Why?

The simple answer - climate change.

“Now there’s growing evidence that climate change is producing a veritable paradise for pollen, resulting in a dramatic increase in allergy rates and severity.” (Lindley, Get ready for the worst allergy season we've ever had 2020)

So why exactly does climate change affect the pollen season? Climate change is affecting the seasons, making winters milder and shorter and bringing spring earlier. When spring arrives earlier pollen comes earlier, making the time people are experiencing the pollen season longer.

As the trend with other climate change issues, it is estimated that the amount of pollen will double in the very near future.

By ignoring the blatant signs and effects of climate change we are inevitably increasing the probability that the current effects we are experiencing now - longer allergy seasons, higher sea levels, larger storms - will double in the future.

The effects of climate change do not just impact our physical environment they impact our physical health as well. Especially in an era where health is on the minds of almost every individual in the world, this should be a wake-up call to pay attention to what is happening to our planet.

Because if one thing is clear humans will always perk their ears up more to something affecting their direct health than the overall stability of the planet.

If you have ignored climate change because you didn’t see the direct effects, well that is about to change.

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Sources:

Lindley, J. (2020, May 20). Get ready for the worst allergy season we've ever had. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://elemental.medium.com/get-ready-for-the-worst-allergy-season-weve-ever-had-60f17381a2a2