Professor explains why Plane trees are even more hazardous for pedestrians now!

Kari Nadeau, John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies and chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was one of the experts quoted in the article. “There are these extreme, chaotic conditions that climate change is associated with,” she said. “And that warming is affecting our pollen seasons.”

Nadeau said that climate change might be impacting plants in several different ways. Since warmer weather signals plants to bloom, pollen seasons are starting earlier and lasting longer. Additionally, greenhouse emissions increase the atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, a gas that stimulates plants to increase the production and release of pollen. 

Climate change’s impact could be significant because people with pollen allergies produce large amounts of sugar-containing mucus, which can lead to serious infections, Nadeau said. “Bacteria love sugar and because you’re so exhausted fighting these allergies, people can get viruses, as well,” she said.