Drought and climate shifts lead to longer, harsher allergy season in the Lowcountry
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Allergy season hits the Lowcountry hard every year, but residents might feel like this year was worse than those previous.
Still, experts warn allergy season in the Lowcountry may become even longer and more intense. Shel Winkley, Weather & Climate Engagement Specialist and Meteorologist at Climate Central, said Charleston is one of the places in the United States that has the “biggest increase” of a pollen growing season.
Springtime is for April showers and May flowers blooming after the winter chills, but weather varies each year. With warming temperatures, climate studies have shown an increase in duration of allergy season, making the days with runny noses and itchy throats much longer.
“As the seasons are getting longer and warmer, we have the ability for plants to make more pollen to create more allergies for you,” Winkley explained. “So there in Charleston, we’ve seen an increase of about 32 days out of the year of what we call the freeze free season; basically, from the last freeze to the first freeze.”
He said when carbon pollution is released into the atmosphere, the gases act as a blanket and warm the earth, creating shorter winter seasons and dragging summer into the fall.
In the long haul, allergy season could be another month longer, meaning more time with yellow-dusted cars and over-the-counter remedies.
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Pollen and springtime go hand and hand, but normally rain helps bring some relief. 2025 hasn’t seen as many raindrops.
It is not a secret; we have not seen nearly as much rain on average in the Lowcountry this year. Not only is the situation creating dangerous wildfire conditions, but a dry spell also allows pollen to be widespread. According to the National Weather Service, Charleston is roughly six inches below normal rainfall so far this year.
But rain is not the only way plants absorb water. People water their lawns and plants throughout the season, which allows these plants to blossom.
“While it may not be quite as abundant everywhere, we’re still giving nature a little bit of boost with that water,” Winkley said. “That’s one of the reasons that we’re still able to see this allergy production. And again, some of these native plants are used to times of a lot of rain and a lot of drought. So even though our growing isn’t quite as abundant as what we normally see at this time of the year, we still have plants that are in production, and we still have plants that are creating allergens.”
Further, increased winds carry pollen to a further distance and stir it up. Windy conditions are typical in Spring, but according to the Washington Post, a report using European climatological data found South Carolina was the 8th windiest on record this past March.