Achoo! The hay fever season lasts longer than ever. Here ’s what we can do about it | Kate Ravilious

The climate crisis is giving trees a bigger window to spread their pollen, but cleaner air and better early warning forecasts can help protect usIf you have sneezed your way through the last few days, you are not alone. About aquarter of the UK population are thought to suffer from hay fever, with numbers continuing to grow. And thelatest researchsuggests that the climate crisis is going to make the hay fever season a whole lot longer and more intense, with up to three times as much pollen wafting around by the end of the century. Hold on to your antihistamines.For people with lung conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pollen bursts are aserious risk that can be deadly in the most extreme cases. In November 2016, apollen outbreak caused by a thunderstorm fragmenting pollen into smaller pieces in Melbourne, Australia, overwhelmed the emergency services and resulted in at least nine deaths.Kate Ravilious is a freelance science journalist based in York, UK; she writes on Earth, climate and weather-related issuesContinue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Hay fever Climate crisis Environment Allergies Society Source Type: news