Asthma, hay fever, pollen, and climate change

Abstract

Climate change, if present, is associated with atmospheric warming- so-called global warming-as well as volatility in weather patterns, leading to more severe winters at a given latitude (since cold air typically further north in latitude is pushed south) and hotter summer months (when the earth is closer to the sun). Hot weather generates more pollen from plants. Cold weather is associated with asthma emergency room visits in New York City. More pollen causes more disease, not only allergically induced, but also non-allergic, since, ragweed, for example, produces more reactive oxygen species (ROS), so it may produce inflammation, leading to upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms, even in those persons without allergic asthma, rhinitis, or conjunctivitis. Clean Air Act enforcement may reduce sources of anthropogenic heat.