Climate change can add illness to its long list of negative effects on our planet.
The pollen season in the UK and Europe has increased by one to two weeks, causing itchy eyes and runny noses for many people.
The results of a study carried out by the University of Heidelberg say that added to floods and wildfires this represents a huge increase in the suffering of tens of millions of people.
University environmental epidemiologist Joacim Rocklöv said: “It’s one of those everyday indicators that show something is getting a little worse for a lot of people. The suffering of people from these changes can be very large.”
Warm weather and high concentrations of carbon dioxide allow plants to pump out more pollen, triggering allergic reactions in people with hay fever and leading to symptoms that range from mildly irritating to life-threatening.
The latest review of climate-health impacts in Europe found the pollen seasons for birch, alder and olive trees began between one and two weeks earlier in 2015-24 than in 1991-2000.
Over the past two years the seasonal severity of birch and alder has increased by 15-20 per cent in the south of the UK, northern France and Germany, and in eastern Europe.
Separate research has highlighted the danger of invasive species such as common ragweed, from which pollen is projected to become a common health problem as it expands into areas in which it is currently rare.
Another report, in the Lancet, said heat deaths had increased over the study period by an average of 52 per million people. Climate breakdown has contributed to the spreading of infectious diseases, with the potential for transmission of dengue thought to have more than tripled in recent decades.
In the past decade, 983 of 1,435 European regions experienced an increase in the length of “extreme to exceptional” summer drought compared with the four decades before, the report found.
It said the findings highlighted the urgent need to adapt to a hotter planet, including greening cities, providing public health guidance that accounted for heat-related risks when people are physically active, and diverting subsidies from fossil fuels into clean energy.
Annual fossil fuel subsidies have reached a new high in 2023 compared with 2010, rising to €444bn after governments tried to limit soaring energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Cathryn Tonne, a co-director of the report, said: “Redirecting investments from fossil fuels into clean energy, improving air quality, safeguarding vulnerable groups and preparing health systems for rising climate shocks will deliver immediate and long‑term health benefits.”
