How Climate Change Makes Your Allergies Worse
Key takeaways
- May 8, 2026 Share This Article Republish Another early spring this year brings more evidence that climate change is making pollen season longer and more miserable.
- Climate change is contributing to longer and more severe pollen seasons across the Northern Hemisphere.
- About a quarter of U.S. adults and 1 in 5 children have seasonal allergies.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
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Climate change is contributing to longer and more severe pollen seasons across the Northern Hemisphere. Dr. Neelima Tummala, an ear, nose and throat doctor at NYU Langone Health, said her patients tell her every year that their allergies are the worst they’ve ever been—and they might be right.
About a quarter of U.S. adults and 1 in 5 children have seasonal allergies. For those millions of Americans, spring weather brings sniffles, itchy eyes, asthma exacerbation and other miseries, with effects ranging from mild symptoms to serious medical emergencies.