A changing climate also increases the likelihood of extreme weather events like heavy rainfall, which can exacerbate allergies from mold spores. Rotkin-Ellman cited the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans as an example of this. "It wasn't only dangerous levels of mold spores in homes, but all of the elevated levels of flooding created spores in the air as a whole," she said.

Stinging insects invade Alaska
Farther north, the shifting climate is proving to be a boon for stinging insects. Jeffrey Demain, director of the Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Center of Alaska, noted that America's northernmost state saw a 46 percent increase in insect stings, with some parts of the state suffering increases as high as 626 percent. Two insect fatalities were also recorded in 2006. Alaskans' "likelihood of exposure and interface with stinging insects is increasing," Demain said.

This comes largely from warmer winter temperatures leading to more snowfall, since Alaskan winters often reach the point where it's too cold to snow. The snow helped insulate insect dwellings, and as a result, more stinging insects survived the winter and expanded their ranges. Now people are finding out the hard way whether they are allergic to stings.

Birch trees, a major pollen source in Alaska, have also benefited from the recent climate changes. "Not only is there a likelihood we are insulating the insect queen's hibernaculum, the snowpack also protects the trees and it protects the roots," said Demain. "As the permafrost melts, we're seeing trees grow where there have never been trees."

Though Alaska's allergy predicament is relatively unusual in the United States, there are analogues in other parts of the world, according to Demain. "I think our allergy-related issues are correlated more with what you'd see in Sweden, just based on the latitude," he said.

Researchers in Europe have also observed allergy changes from the climate. Tim Sparks at the Institute for Advanced Study at the Technical University of Munich co-authored a paper earlier this month in the journal PLoS ONE that showed that increasing carbon dioxide is a bigger allergen driver than rising temperatures.

However, on shorter time frames, changes in weather patterns can alter allergic risks. "Heavy rainfall would tend to ground pollen," said Sparks. "High winds will transmit it further distances." Over the long term, Sparks expects pollen levels to continue to rise.

Fewer places to hide
Human vulnerability is the other side of the allergy problem. Asthma and associated allergy rates have risen all over the world, and scientists have yet to pin down a cause. "Everybody is scratching their heads," said Stephen Apaliski, an allergist and author of "Beating Asthma: 7 Simple Principles." "We're definitely seeing more cases of asthma. We seem to be having some worse cases of asthma, as well. We certainly know that the prevalence has risen over the past 20 years."

In addition, allergens are now so ubiquitous, it's hard to find a safe place for sensitive eyes, skin and throats. "There is almost nowhere you can really go to get away from this," said Apaliski. He noted that physicians in the past recommended that people with allergies move to drier climates, but even those areas are increasingly dusted with pollen.

Allergies can be especially troublesome in urban areas, where allergens coupled with pollution can form a potent health threat. "That synergy is really worrisome because of how many people in this country have asthma and rising rates of asthma," said the Natural Resources Defense Council's Rotkin-Ellman. "Ozone and pollen together are a very dangerous mixture." This will lead to more severe allergic reactions and more hospital visits.

5 Comments

1. 1. geojellyroll 03:16 PM 4/30/12

   "....while stinging insects like yellow jackets and hornets are findings new homes farther north.'
   
   ?????????? I live in Canada. We've alsways had yellow jackets and a variety of other stinging members of this insect family.
   
   This is another empty article tossed out to fuel the global warming groupies. File it between 'proof' # 1257 of wetter summers and # 1259 'proof' of drier summers

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2. 2. Shoshin 10:32 PM 4/30/12

   This article gats a WOW. As in Waste of Words.
   
   More idiotic Alarmist garbage.

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3. 3. Dredd 08:58 AM 5/1/12

   A Navy Admiral indicates that the Navy has now been subverted the by global warming hoax, so they will probably try to protect their sailors from the perceived allergy dangers.
   
   Waste of taxpayer dollars?
   
   http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2012/05/has-navy-fallen-for-greatest-hoax.html

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4. 4. bucketofsquid 10:34 AM 5/3/12

   Despite the 3 previous posts, it is interesting that pollen counts are breaking records in many areas and have for the last few years. My allergies kicked in a month early this year. I'm growing plants that were not rated for this growing zone 15 years ago. The climate is changing because that is what climates do.
   
   I wonder what Apfelbaum suggests for those of us that live where ragweed is a native plant. When the pollen.com rating gets to about 11 I usually wear a commercial grade HEPA filter mask. It costs a fortune and looks silly but I can breathe.

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5. 5. mounthell 08:51 PM 5/4/12

   In addition to the rising levels of plant products at ever higher latitudes and altitudes, we seem to be subjected to increasing hot-air effluents from conspiracy theorists. They valiantly spread the alarm that the government is wrongly telling us that the sky is falling when, in fact, they know it to be rising (as heated air is rumored to do).
   
   It is surprising that useful data points reflecting this moist, warm effluent, although sparse, seem to occur in temporal clusters, like 1 - 2 - 3 above. That, in turn, suggests that this frightening trend might be a new, wholly unanticipated anthropogenic effect of human-exacerbated climate change. If so, the effluent may not be adding to earth's heat content as one might expect. In fact, what might be occurring is that the effluent sources are actually absorbing energy and, thereby, reducing the climate's rate of increase.
   
   Given their selflessly ameliorating effect on the hotting climate, it would appear that we all owe conspiracy theorists our gratitude. Indeed, we could do better! We must all encourage the ignored, paranoid personalities on societies' margins to consider taking up a career in climate warming and Shakespeare denial, along with the birthers, millennials and the odd flying-saucer authority. One can imagine television programs, even series, that celebrate such gurus' sensitive and complete understanding of the universe.
   
   Yet, what if the deniers are a product of world governments' scheme to actually _lower_ earth's temperature and drive up the cost of fuels needed to heat our homes and effluent sources so the oil companies can buy more politicians to keep the whole sordid mess running? Oh my, this looks like a new conspiracy!
   
   Is it getting warm in here or is it just me?

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