In the Southeast,where I live,a coating of fine green-yellow pollen seems to cover the entire landscape each spring. You start seeing cars coated with enough pollen that you can read the messages (usually “Clean Me!”) written by the fingers of passing teenagers,and when it rains,there’s enough pollen that fine lines of it mark the places where streams of water collected like wrack lines left on a beach behind high tide.
If you live in a place like I do where you can physically see the pollen,you might be wondering if it’s getting worse. The short answer is yes,as warmer temps and other environmental changes have led to more abundant and intense pollen levels,and a longer growing season (which means allergens in the air for a longer period of time). But there may be another surprising factor contributing to an increase in pollen allergy symptoms:the wind.
The Wind?
Yes,the wind. As pollination ecologist Christine Cairns Fortuin explains,trees and plants have two different ways of distributing their pollen. The first is what many of us are most familiar with:by using showy flowers to attract bees and butterflies,whom the pollen will stick to and who will then carry it to another plant or tree of the same species. This method is effective,but requires a lot from the tree or plant:fancy flowers,a strong scent and sweet nectar are all necessary to attract the insect helpers needed for this to work. The second method trees and plants turn to,then,could be called the “brute force” method (Fortuin calls it the “budget option”):produce a bunch of lightweight pollen and let the wind do your work for you.
The thing about this “budget” pollen option is that,unlike using bees and butterflies,it is incredibly inefficient. As Fortuin writes,the probability of one pollen grain landing in the exact right location (the stigma or ovule of another plant belonging to the same species) is “infinitesimally small.” To compensate for this,trees using this option need to produce as much pollen as possible. And not only do they need to produce a large amount of pollen:It also needs to be lightweight enough that the wind will carry it near and far.
So,then,when we in the Southeast see a dusting of pollen covering our cars,streets and houses,we are watching trees being both very productive and wildly inefficient in their attempts to pollinate other trees. And because of the increased growing seasons,we are living with longer tree pollen seasons. In addition to this,there’s actually one other factor contributing to the increase in Southeastern pollen problems:strong windstorms are becoming more common and more intense in the region.
The Perfect (Pollen) Storm
As Fortuin notes,windier conditions can actually make allergies worse. That’s because pollen both travels farther and stays aloft (where we easily breathe it in) longer on windy days. Stormy weather can also break apart grains of pollen,potentially creating smaller pollen particles able to penetrate deeper into our lungs. This could contribute to potentially fatal thunderstorm asthma.
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study estimated that up to 60,000 asthma-related emergency department visits are linked to pollen each year,with that number projected to increase by 2090. With the peak of spring severe season often lining up with pollen season,if you suffer from allergies and/or asthma,it’s important to be aware of the potential dangers of storms and pollen. Check your local pollen levels regularly,improve your indoor air quality with air purifiers,and follow your doctor’s advice on medications.
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Senior writer Chris DeWeese edits Morning Brief,Weather Now 24’s newsletter.
