GLOBAL WARMING CAN WORSEN ALLERGIES: STUDY

NEW DELHI: Experts have cautioned that global warming and increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere can cause pollen levels to rise which in tur n can further aggravate allergies. A study conducted by researchers at Harvard and the University of Massachusetts published in the journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday indicates that pollen allergies could increase because of global warming.

“One expected ef f ect of climate change on human health is increasing allergic and asthmatic symptoms through changes in pollen biology. Allergic diseases have a large impact on human health globally, with 10–30% of the population affected by allergic rhinitis and more than 300 million affected by asthma. Pollen from grass species, which are highly allergenic and occur worldwide, elicits allergic responses in 20% of the general population and 40% of atopic individuals,” the study notes.