Are Florida's allergies to pollen getting worse this year? Is the cause of climate change?

Pollen has been building up in clumps of snot-inducing confetti throughout the last few months. Vehicles have an unpleasantly green color. And who hasn't heard someone remark that "this year's allergies must be worse"?

It has some validity.

All over the country, especially in Florida, the pollen season is getting longer and more intense due to human-caused climate change. Temperature increases are encouraging plants and trees to release pollen early.

According to Alyssa Vinson, a University of Florida horticulture extension agent in Manatee County, "climate change is going to make things weird." "Changes are taking place."

Experts suggest that variations in the pollen season have an impact on both human and environmental health. Pollen can worsen respiratory issues and just be uncomfortable as it gets worse. Additionally, longer growing seasons may upset the delicate balance of ecosystems as the earth heats.

This is how Florida's pollen season is being impacted by climate change.

What does a normal Florida "season" of pollen look like?

All year long, Florida is verdant and lush. Living in a temperate climate that is almost consistent has many advantages. However, there is a drawback: something is constantly expanding.

This time of year, trees, especially oaks, are generating the pollen that usually comes to mind when we see those tiny, annoying yellow fluffs. However, annoying allergies can strike in Florida at any time of year. Summertime grasses might also make you sneeze and cough. Fall ragweed, a thin, green flowering plant with purple stems, follows it and is also beginning to exhibit indications of deterioration due to increased airborne carbon dioxide levels.

Not to mention mold, which is a constant threat in Florida's humidity.

Because pollen is most visible from January through April, according to Marc Frank, a botanist at the University of Florida Herbarium, people tend to pay greater attention to it during that time.

Frank stated, "They see it on the cars, on the patios, on surfaces, and that is almost exclusively tree pollen."

Reproduction is the only objective of plants, and it must occur widely. Different plant species approach it differently. Bees are drawn to vibrant, blossoming flowers. Tiny, hairy animals scatter nuts or seeds everywhere. Certain plants, such as certain trees, receive pollenation from the wind, which gathers and deposits the pollen in new locations.

According to Theresa Crimmins, director of the USA National Phenology Network and associate professor at the University of Arizona, allergies in people are caused by wind-pollinated plants.

According to Crimmins, "local environmental conditions actually trigger all of these events, and temperature is a major factor in many cases."

What effects is climate change having on pollen?

The Fifth National Climate Assessment states that global warming is being caused by human activity and is being exacerbated by the burning of fossil fuels.

The planet's temperature has increased by roughly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century. Wide-ranging effects have resulted from rising temperatures, including increased humidity, altered rainfall patterns, and, on average, shorter winters and earlier spring and summer seasons.

Since 1895, Florida's average annual temperature has risen by roughly 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Florida State University's Florida Climate Center.

The Environmental Protection Agency reports that spring has arrived earlier in the United States over the last few decades.

According to Stefanie Ebelt, an Emory University professor of environmental health and epidemiology, "there has been a trend for changes in the growing season, and that then correlates with changes in pollen."

According to a 2021 study by national climate and environmental specialists, the pollen season has expanded by an average of 20 days and climbed by 21% in severity over a roughly 30-year span.

The study examined US pollen monitoring sites, one of which is located in Tampa.

Compared to when it first opened, some fifteen years ago, the pollen season was starting a few days earlier at the Tampa facility. Additionally, the Tampa location revealed rising pollen concentrations.

While Florida experiences some chilly days throughout the winter, the state does not observe the same black and white seasonal transition as other regions of the nation. Therefore, monitoring pollen in these areas can be a little trickier than in northern states where the transition from winter to summer is more pronounced.

"Simply stating that the growing season ends and begins here is not as straightforward," Crimmins added. "It resembles this gradient that overlaps."

However, according to Crimmins, plants that are more susceptible to seasonal changes are beginning to bloom early.

According to Crimmins, "there is more carbon dioxide in the air, which acts like fertilizer for plants in the short term, enabling them to grow bigger and produce more pollen."

Pollen is at hand. What information should I have about it?

Extended pollen seasons affect not only our noses but also the environment more broadly.

Every element of an ecosystem is in a state of equilibrium, and when you alter or remove anything, the system goes out of balance and the impacts start to affect other parts of the ecosystem as well, according to Vinson.

For instance, a pollinator that comes in April won't be able to pollinate a plant that starts to blossom in March rather than its usual April. According to Vinson, there's a chance that the plant won't reproduce as much and that fewer pollinators will exist.

And just as our ecosystems will be affected by the shift in pollen, so will we as individuals with runny noses and itchy eyes.

Physician Farnaz Tabatabaian, an allergist and immunologist at the University of South Florida, stated that while doctors are aware that tree pollen season occurs every year, precisely when it occurs is more difficult to predict.

The previous season's blossoming started in late December and continued steadily until the end. This year, according to data from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology's Tampa pollen station, colder January temperatures kept tree pollen at bay until late February, when it burst out. Pollen levels have started to decline during the past few weeks.

Our temps vary so much, which makes it intriguing, according to Tabatabaian. "We are aware of the seasons and other events, as well as when they will occur, but the unpredictable nature of the world is growing."

More severe health issues can arise from elevated pollen levels in people with eczema or asthma.

According to Ebelt's research, people with respiratory diseases, especially asthma, visited emergency rooms more frequently when there was a higher concentration of outside pollen.

Some months of the year are uncomfortable, even for individuals whose allergies aren't forcing them to the ER.

Many people are affected by it, and Tabatabaian stated that "it is a quality of life issue... they're not sleeping well, they're not functioning well at work." "People are having a pretty miserable couple of months."