Source: Xinhua

05-12-2009 11:53

LOS ANGELES, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Besides doing harm to the Earth, climate change may also worsen symptoms of allergies and asthma, anew study has found.

Besides doing harm to the Earth, climate change may also worsen symptoms of allergies and asthma, anew study has found.(File photo)

Climate change puts allergy and asthma sufferers at greater risk because it is making pollen seasons last longer, creating more ozone in the air, and even expanding the areas where insects flourish, according to the findings published by Health Day News on Monday.

In addition to longer pollen seasons, the plant and tree life is changing along with the warmer temperatures, according to the study conducted by researchers at the Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Center of Alaska.

"Climate change will cause impacts in every area. Wet areas will get wetter, and dry climates are getting drier," said Jeffrey Demain, director of the center, who led the study. Demain is also a clinical associate professor at the University of Washington.

Those changes will mean that more people with allergies and asthma will suffer. In wet areas, mold allergies will spike, while in drier areas pollens and other airborne irritants will become more of a problem, he said.

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