If you’ve found that asthma or allergies have particularly taken their toll on your wellbeing lately, you might want to take a look to climate change for a culprit. Environmental wellness experts have noted a link between carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping greenhouse gas emitted by burning coal, oil and other fossil fuels, and increased allergy symptoms. Tests show that the more CO2 in the atmosphere, the more plants generally grow and the more pollen they produce.
‘My allergies are much worse than they used to be. I used to be able to take a Benadryl or Claritin and be fine,’ says Amanda Carwyle, a mother of three who lives 95 miles south in Pontiac, Illinois. Now, however, Amanda’s eyes are still watery and her head still stuffy despite three medications and allergy shots that make her feel a bit like a zombie. ‘I’m so miserable,’ she laments.
According to Brian Rotskoff, of the Clarity Allergy Centre, ‘We’ve definitely seen a big increase in patients,’ with kids coming in at younger ages and some adults having worse symptoms or problems for the first time. ‘The severity is affecting their quality of life,’ he says, noting they’re having trouble sleeping and focusing at work or school due to symptoms such as congestion, shortness of breath, coughing, runny nose, sneezing and itchy eyes.
Lewis Ziska, a weed ecologist at the US Department of Agriculture and a top researcher in the field, argues, ‘The link between rising carbon dioxide and pollen is pretty clear.’ This is based on his own research, which proves that pollen production rises along with carbon dioxide. When CO2 in the atmosphere rose from 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1900 to 370 ppm in 2000, pollen production doubled from 5 grams to 10 grams per plant. If carbon emissions continue to climb, Ziska believes that pollen production could double again by 2075.
George Luber, associate director for climate change at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adds, ‘There’s clear evidence that pollen season is lengthening and total pollen is increasing. It’s one of the ways climate change is already affecting your community.’
Comments are closed.