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Experts say climate change is making allergy season worse
Warming average temperatures have prolonged pollen season, and that’s not the only impact.
MINNEAPOLIS — Allergy season is ramping up in Minnesota and as the symphony of coughing, sneezing, and wheezing grows louder, experts say climate change has been steadily prolonging the suffering.
Dr. Pramod Kelkar, an allergist with Allina Health, says understanding the impact that climate change is having requires more than just a snapshot of the current allergy season.
“So far, I am seeing just a typical allergy season, but it is early,” Dr. Kelkar said.
Dr. Kelkar says many Minnesotans suffering right now, are struggling with snow mold and other issues related to our prolonged, wet winter.
For those who are allergic to tree pollen, he says the battle is just beginning, but even though it might feel like we’re getting a late start, the annual spring leaf index recently revealed that the Twin Cities region, along with southeastern Minnesota and much of Wisconsin still produced spring leaves earlier than the 30-year average.
“Every year we are seeing patients who are telling us that this year has been worse than the previous one,” Dr. Kelkar said. “Climate change has to be blamed for that because we know that because of climate change, the allergy season is expanding.”
According to the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, pollen season now starts 20 days earlier and lasts 10 days longer than it did in 1990. And the heat isn’t the only thing on the rise. A recent study found rising levels of carbon dioxide also contributed to pollen totals increasing by 21 percent from 1990-2018.
“The plant is actually getting more fuel (from the carbon dioxide) so it’s more robust in its growth,” said Emily Onello, a family physician who also studies the health implications of climate change at the University of Minnesota. “So we’re seeing a longer allergy season, but there is data to suggest that we actually see more pollen too.”
Dr. Onello says those changes are of particular interest in Minnesota because they are expected to follow other climate trends.
“States in the northern tier of the United States are far more impacted by this, interestingly, than states down south,” she said.
Climate data will make tracking that impact pretty straightforward, but she says the impact it’s having on us, and our allergies, is much harder to assess.
“The challenge is that the symptoms are irritating and life-impacting but not always bad enough to see the doctor or go to the emergency room,” Dr. Onello said. “So sometimes it’s hard for even physicians to have a handle on how bad are things. One of the interesting ways researchers are looking at this is actually tracking sales of allergy medications to see how bad are things?”
According to the CDC, one in four US adults reported suffering from seasonal allergies in 2021, but that was the first time tracking that information for the organisation.
If you find yourself suffering, Dr. Kelkar says it’s worth reaching out.
“The first thing that people need to remember is that we have so many good treatment options available,” Dr. Kelkar said. “You should not deny yourself the pleasure of outdoors just because you have allergies.”
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Whether you plan to attend a ballgame in Minneapolis or Fort Myers, the Twins are putting seats up for purchase.
MINNEAPOLIS — Snowflakes are falling but for true fans, it’s never too early to think about baseball season.
The Minnesota Twins announced that tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday for all 2025 home events – regular season games at Target Field, spring training games in Fort Myers and TwinsFest.
Regular season
The 2025 season will include 81 games at Target Field from April through late September. The home opener will be on April 3 against the Houston Astros.
Single-game tickets will go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. If you plan on going to three or more Twins games, consider purchasing a holiday pack of tickets to get a complimentary Twins tree ornament.
Spring training
The Twins will host 17 home games at Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. between Feb. 22 and March 25 as the club preps for the regular season. For more information on these games, click here.
TwinsFest
This annual fan event will take place Jan. 24-25 and feature more than 40 current and former Twins including Carlos Correa, Pablo López, Griffin Jax, Bailey Ober, Bert Blyleven and more.
Fans will experience live music, autograph stations and a youth clinic for aspiring Twins players. Check it out at this link.
MINNEAPOLIS — Australian rock icons ACDC are hitting the road for the band’s first North American tour in nine years, and opening night will take place in Minneapolis.
The “Power Up” tour kicks off at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 10, 2025. Tickets go on sale to the general public at noon, December 6 via the ACDC website. The tour includes 13 stops, winding up on May 18 in Cleveland.
ACDC is a legendary Grammy-winning band that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Lead guitarist Angus Young, singer Brian Johnson and crew just wrapped up a European leg of the tour, named after the band’s 2020 album “Power Up” which they weren’t able to play live due to the COVID pandemic.
They are considered by many to be one of the most influential rock bands in history, with over 200 million albums sold worldwide including “Back in Black,” with 50 million albums sold worldwide and counting. ACDC mega-hits include “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Thunderstruck,” “Dirty Deeds,” Highway to Hell” and “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll).”
“Is it 100% the answer? No, of course not. But it’s another tool in our toolbox.”
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Did you enjoy a nice, juicy bird this Thanksgiving?
You can thank folks like Loren Brey.
“This is my 35th year working in the turkey business,” Brey said. “We sell just under 3 million fertile eggs a year, employ between 8 and 9 full time people.”
Last November – almost a year ago to the day – the re-emergence of the bird flu threatened to bring down the whole thing.
“We lost probably about 15,000 breeder hens,” Brey said. “The first flock that broke here, we just started them, we had a handful of eggs. And I remember that morning when the USDA crew came to euthanize the rest of them he told me ‘You don’t have to be here, you don’t have to watch this.’ It was tough.”
With the outbreak growing, farmers were looking for anything to mitigate the spread. The Bird Control Group has come up with an idea straight out of a spy film: lasers.
Representative Craig Duhr said it all started with a simple idea in the Netherlands in 2012.
“Literally a guy messing around with a green laser light and moved it over some birds and the birds moved,” Duhr said.
Since then, the company’s global reach has expanded, and the technology has evolved.
Duhr explained how it works.
“Green is the brightest spectrum of light the birds see in. So we as humans will see a green dot out there during the daytime hours. The birds see a whole beam – like a laser beam. And they perceive that as they move through the field or a rooftop or the vineyards as a threat. Something coming at them as a predator. So they want to take flight and get out of that area.”
The group has been working with Minnesota farmers to install the technology. The state meanwhile is offering grants – up to $10,000 per farming operation – to help with the cost.
“Right now, I have five lasers running at roughly $15,000 a laser,” he said.
Brey said it’s working. In fact, he’s having more success with it than any other mitigation strategy he’s tried.
“I would say it’s keeping 70 plus percent of the local birds and migratory birds away from the farm,” Brey said. “In the past, what I’ve noticed is under my eaves or in the trees I would see bird nests. I don’t see any of that anymore. So in my mind it’s been a success.”
For now, there’s hope that these high-tech, laser-beam scarecrows continue to do their job.
“We’ve been seeing some good results with it. Is it 100% the answer? No, of course not. But it’s another tool in our toolbox that is helping us.”
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