Data: Allergy season now a month longer in Triangle due in part to climate change
Climate change is making pollen season longer and more intense, worsening health effects for millions of Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies - including 19% of children.
The allergy season in the Raleigh-Durham area is now 31 days longer than it was in the early 1970s, according to data from NOAA's Applied Climate Information System (ACIS), analyzed by Climate Central.
"Carbon pollution, primarily from burning fossil fuels, traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to spring warming trends across the U.S.," said Kaitlyn Trudeau, a senior researcher with Climate Central.
Trudeau says a warmer, earlier spring makes the growing season longer, giving plants more time to grow and release allergy-inducing pollen sooner in spring and later into fall.
Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the air can also boost pollen production in plants, particularly in grasses and ragweed. With continued high rates of CO2 pollution, the U.S. could face up to a 200% increase in pollen production by the end of this century, according to projections of climate-driven changes in pollen emission.
Climate Central assessed temperature trends in 197 U.S. cities to see how freeze-free season length has changed from 1970 through 2023 and found lengthened seasons in 83% of the 197 cities analyzed.
"You're not only seeing it earlier, but you're seeing it for a longer amount of time," Trudeau said.
Allergies are more than just inconvenient — they are expensive to manage and can have significant health implications, such as triggering or worsening asthma.
Around 1 in 5 children in the U.S. suffer from seasonal allergies, according to the CDC.
Pollen is a trigger for asthma, which affects nearly 7% of American children. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, allergic asthma is the most common type of asthma, and is most prevalent in early childhood.
Seasonal allergies and asthma can also affect children’s quality of life including school performance, mood, and sleep in adolescents between 10 and 19-years-old.
Continued warming could make allergies worse for children, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The analysis found that 2°C (3.6°F) of warming could result in a 17% annual increase in asthma-related emergency room visits among children due to pollen exposure, relative to baseline conditions (1986-2005).
The EPA study also found that oak pollen exposure disproportionately impacts Hispanic, Asian, and Black children, as well as low-income, limited English-speaking, and uninsured children.
