WASHINGTON — Global warming will bring much more sneezing and wheezing to Europe by mid-century, a new study says.
Ragweed pollen levels are likely to quadruple for much of Europe because warmer temperatures will allow the plants to take root more, and carbon dioxide will make them grow more, says a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change. Other factors not related to man-made climate change will also contribute.
Ragweed isn’t native to Europe but was imported from America in the late 19th century. It hasn’t quite become established all over the continent, at least not yet.
Parts of France, the United Kingdom and Germany don’t have the allergens now, but they will by 2050, says study co-author Robert Vautard, a climate scientist at the Climate and Environment Sciences Laboratory in Yvette, France.
Earlier studies show that ragweed pollen season in North America has already extended by as much as three weeks in some northern locales, partly because of climate change.
