Bad allergies? Support the Green New Deal! New York Times: ‘Climate change is making this allergy season longer and more intense’

https://www.nytimes.com/article/fall-allergies-symptoms-treatment.html

Excerpt: “What a lot of people don’t realize is that the allergy seasons have almost doubled in length and gotten more intense because of climate change,” said Kenneth Mendez, the president and chief executive of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Higher carbon dioxide emissions spur plants to release larger amounts of pollen, he said. “That’s why allergies are feeling a lot worse.”

And as temperatures stay warmer for longer periods of time and the first frost happens later and later, plants like ragweed have more time to grow and release allergens, Mr. Mendez said.

Cities tend to have higher temperatures than suburban or rural areas, as a result of the urban heat island effect, he said. Crammed buildings and infrastructure absorb and retain the sun’s heat, making it as much as seven degrees hotter in urban areas during the day, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That means allergies may be particularly intense if you live in a city, Mr. Mendez said, where those warmer temperatures allow ragweed to grow for longer.