Climate change, hurricanes and extreme temperature variations seem to be the new norm. The effect of the weather on plant life leads to more allergy and asthma symptoms because greenhouse gases increase temperature and rainfall and the higher carbon dioxide promotes photosynthesis.
What does this means for the allergic patient? If you’re allergic to:
Trees–warmer winters could mean earlier flowering, delayed or even decreased flowering. Higher ground-level ozone may make pollen grains more likely to cause allergy.
Ragweed–pollen season is already getting longer because ragweed distribution is increasing northward
Fungi–Alternaria, a major cause of asthma in the fall depends on plants for its own survival. If plants life is altered by global warming, this fungus will thrive. Thunderstorms can also cause sudden surges in the levels of this fungus.
Furthermore, particle pollution, vehicle exhaust, and ground-level ozone are the most important types contribute to a troxic brew that fragments pollen grains breaking them into smaller ones that can be inhaled deep down into the lungs causing asthma symptoms.
