Experts: Climate change intensifies allergy challenges

(MENAFN) Experts are sounding the alarm about the worsening effects of climate change on individuals with allergies, pointing out that rising temperatures are leading to extended pollen seasons and increased pollen levels. In addition to these seasonal changes, global warming is also causing concerning extreme allergy incidents, such as thunderstorm asthma.

This phenomenon occurs when thunderstorms lift trillions of pollen particles into the atmosphere. Within the storm, rain, lightning, and humidity break these particles into much smaller pieces, which then fall back to the ground, becoming easily inhalable and potentially dangerous.

A notable instance of this took place at approximately 6:00 p.m. on November 21, 2016, in Melbourne, Australia, when the air suddenly turned hazardous. Emergency services were inundated with calls from individuals struggling to breathe, and hospitals experienced a surge in patients. The demand for ambulances was so overwhelming that not everyone could be reached in time. Emergency rooms reported an eightfold increase in patients with respiratory issues, and hospital admissions for asthma cases rose nearly ten times.

Sadly, this event resulted in the deaths of 10 individuals, including a 20-year-old law student who tragically lost her life on her lawn while awaiting an ambulance. One survivor shared his harrowing experience, explaining how he went from normal breathing to gasping for air in just 30 minutes. "It was insane," he recounted to reporters from his hospital bed.

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