Worsening Allergies Aren't Your Imagination

Windy Days Create The Perfect Pollen Storm

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Evolution has fostered many reproductive strategies across the spectrum of life.

From dandelions to giraffes, nature finds a way.

One of those ways creates quite a bit of suffering for humans: pollen, the infamous male gametophyte of the plant kingdom.

In the Southeastern US, where I live, you know it’s spring when your car has turned yellow and pollen blankets your patio furniture and anything else left outside. Suddenly there are long lines at every car wash in town.

Even people who aren't allergic to pollen - clearly an advantage for a pollination ecologist like me - can experience sneezing and watery eyes during the release of tree pollen each spring. Enough particulate matter in the air will irritate just about anyone, even if your immune system does not launch an all-out attack.

So, why is there so much pollen? And why does it seem to be getting worse?