On May 10, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that carbon dioxide levels had reached nearly 400 parts per million (ppm), the highest reading since 1958 when the federal agency began recording these measurements.
"The last time in the Earth's history when we saw similar levels of CO2 in the atmosphere was probably about 4.5 million years ago when the world was warmer on average by three or four degrees Celsius than it is today," said Professor Sir Brian Hoskins of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at the Imperial College London, according to the Huffington Post. "There was no apparent ice sheet on Greenland, sea levels were much higher, and the world was a very different place."
It has long been documented that climate change and increased carbon dioxide levels have a negative effect on the environment, but recent research suggests that these factors may lead to worse allergies, which could have a significant impact on the millions of Americans who suffer from these afflictions.
According to Kansas City, Kansas, news station KMBZ, a 2005 study revealed that high carbon dioxide levels caused ragweed plants – known for being troublesome to allergy suffers – to produce a particularly potent pollen in larger-than-normal amounts. Additionally, reports the source, as temperatures begin heating up in earlier months, plants adapt to this schedule and bloom sooner, which causes an overlap between the spring, summer and fall allergy seasons.
If you have seasonal allergies, don't let your pollen allergy symptoms prevent you from being comfortable in your own home. Consider investing in a whole house air purifier, which removes allergens directly from the air.
