Pollen is nothing to sneeze at

A new study finds that pollen season and its awful nasal drips is coming earlier and hitting harder and that’s because of global warming.

Monday’s study is the first to use accepted scientific methods to attribute worsening allergies in the United States directly to human-caused climate change.

The study finds that since 1990 pollen season has started about 20 days earlier in the U.S. and Canada and pollen loads are 21% higher.

Pollen is nothing to sneeze at. Experts say asthma, often triggered by allergies, can cost the U.S. $80 billion a year with hospitalizations up and test scores dropping for pollen-hit students.