It’s not in your head.
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 US 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.