Skip to main content

Longer Allergy Seasons


The National Phenology Network is showing the early arrival of leaves on trees in the Ohio Valley, the Midwest, and Western United States this year. This trend has become more of a norm over the past past 50 years.  
Climate Central published data this week showing the same trend since 1970 with notable attention to the West where states are seeing as many as 17 more frost-free days, extending the growing season. Here in the Local 6 area, the growth is not as notable but still averaging between 4-9 days additional to the growing season. Why does this matter? Aside from having an influence on which plants are suitable for planting zones, it has a much higher societal impact by extending the allergy season. 

"As the climate warms from the increase of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the last spring freeze is trending earlier and the first fall freeze is coming later. This means the growing season is getting longer, and so is the pollen season— whether it is from tree pollens in the spring, grass pollens in the summer, or ragweed in the fall. A study sampling 10 locations from Texas to Saskatoon, Canada indicated that pollen seasons lengthened between two to four weeks from 1995 to 2009, with the largest increases in the northernmost areas.
In addition, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide enhances photosynthesis in plants, meaning that they produce more pollen. Lab studies have confirmed this, with timothy grass producing twice as much pollen for a doubling of carbon dioxide, and ragweed producing twice as much pollen even before a doubling of carbon dioxide is reached. And the lab studies are supported from the field. One study in Baltimore, where carbon dioxide concentrations were 30 percent higher than outside the city, found that ragweed grew faster and produced more pollen in the city.
Pollen allergies are not just a nuisance. Asthma symptoms can be triggered by exposure to pollen, with the number of emergency room visits increasing on days with high pollen. An analysis of emergency room visits in New York City during 1999 showed peaks in the number of visits correlated with high spring pollen counts, and is consistent with other work connecting allergy-induced asthma to increasing in hospital visits." -Climate Central 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Planting Zones Heading North

As our global climate changes, so does our planting zones, helping us determine which flowers/shrubs/trees are hardy in specific areas. The Local 6 area has always been split by 2-3 growing zones so placement becomes very important to those in the agricultural community. The image below represents the average over the past 30 years. Climate Central published the following information:  "What kinds of flowers, shrubs and trees you’ll find at your local nursery depends on your climate — how warm it tends to get in summer, and how cold in winter. A plant that’s happy in Wisconsin might be miserable in Alabama, and vice versa. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has formalized these differences into " hardiness zones " — strips of similar climate that run more or less east-to-west (except in the high mountains), where particular plants should do especially well. But as the planet warms under its thickening blanket of greenhouse gases, those zones are shifting northward. Th...
46 comments
Read more

Updates on Upcoming Winter Weather Events

Sunday Morning Update: A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for much of the WPSD Local 6 area with a handful of counties just reaching Winter Storm criteria. Here is the latest map. They are in effect until early Monday. Snowfall totals have not changed much from last nights posting and I really feel this will still just be a road impact for Monday morning. Here is the projected snowfall total map: Sorry, TN. Looks like another near miss on the snow for you. :( Saturday Night Update: A Winter Storm Watch has been issued by the Paducah National Weather Service for most of the WPSD Local 6 area. Portions of NW TN and MO Bootheel have been placed under a Winter Weather Advisory all for winters weather on Sunday as colder air begins to arrive.   Rain will switch over to freezing rain, sleet, and snow during the day on Sunday eventually leading to accumulations in the watch/advisory areas. Initially any frozen precip will melt thanks to Saturday's mild temps and warmer pavement surfac...
4 comments
Read more