{"id":143127,"date":"2026-03-19T21:31:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T21:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/143127\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T21:31:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T21:31:06","slug":"when-will-pittsburghs-allergy-season-be-in-full-bloom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/143127\/","title":{"rendered":"When Will Pittsburgh\u2019s Allergy Season Be in Full Bloom?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Meadow<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADOBE STOCK<\/p>\n

Although winter weather has been persistent \u2014 it has felt more like February than the end of March lately \u2014 there\u2019s no denying that spring is right around the corner. With longer days and warmer temperatures come blooming flowers, lush, green trees \u2014 and allergy season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Russell Traister, an allergist and immunologist with AHN Pediatrics, says there is always some variability on when the allergy season officially begins; it\u2019s largely dependent on how warm it is and how soon that warm weather comes to stay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the brief period of warm-up we had earlier in March, Dr. Traister says it has still been a cold and tenacious winter. Nevertheless, he estimates Pittsburghers could start to feel the effect of some common environmental allergens within two to four weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Traister adds you\u2019ll know the time has come when you see the \u201cpollen bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know it\u2019s definitely pollen season when you come outside and your car is coated with that yellow dust,\u201d he says. \u201cSpring is mostly tree pollen, summer is mostly grass pollen and late summer and fall is more weeds and weed pollens. And I think every year, the pollen count seems to be increasing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He points to a national trend of global warming, with spring- or summer-like weather coming earlier and sticking around for longer. While that might not have been the case this winter, Traister says data shows recent Pittsburgh winters have been milder than those the city may have faced in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat just makes the growing season longer,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd that is going to lead to more pollen and more allergies for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, warmer temperatures and other environmental factors \u2014 such as \u201cbiological sexism,\u201d or the strategic planting of only male trees \u2014 have made seasonal allergens such as tree pollen, mold and spores worse over recent decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additionally, data shows that the allergy season has been extended by up to three weeks in some regions, leading to longer and more intense periods of suffering for the more than 80 million people nationwide who suffer from environmental allergies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Traister notes that allergies and respiratory conditions like asthma often go hand-in-hand, and that one can exacerbate the symptoms of the other. The extreme ups and downs in temperatures Pittsburgh has experienced this winter can also make symptoms of asthma or other respiratory conditions worse. Even for people without any allergies or breathing problems, the indecisive weather can still cause discomfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also a non-allergic condition we call non-allergic rhinitis or non-allergic runny nose, where some people are very sensitive to the weather changes, and it\u2019s really the temperature change that tells their nose to run,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Studies also show <\/a>that human activity \u2014 creating air pollution, using non-native and allergen-producing plants in landscaping and the increasing temperatures and temperature variations caused by climate change \u2014 all contribute to the exacerbation of seasonal allergies and respiratory problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though our air quality is a lot better from the old steel days and whatnot, [Pittsburgh] is still not a very highly ranked area in terms of air quality. That probably does have an extra effect on people, especially with any respiratory problems,\u201d Traister says. \u201cFor example, it\u2019s been a few years now where we\u2019ve had issues with Canadian wildfires and that smoke affecting our area. I don\u2019t recall that ever being an issue before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Climate Central, a nonprofit organization that researches climate science, released a report<\/a> last year that ranks Pittsburgh among the 172 U.S. cities that have seen their freeze-free season lengthen by an average of 20 days, which gives plants more time to grow and release allergy-inducing pollen. Pittsburgh is ranked 59th on the list, with its growing season about 22 days or 11% longer in 2024 than it was in 1970.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On a list of the 25 worst states for pollution, the American Lung Association<\/a> also ranks Pittsburgh 12th in the country for year-round particle pollution and 16th for short-term particle pollution. Pittsburgh also ranks 23rd out of 100 cities on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America\u2019s 2026 Allergy Capitals report, which points to extreme weather caused by human activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For those who suffer from allergies, both environmental and manmade, or respiratory conditions made worse by allergies, Traister says there are ways to find relief no matter where you live.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to tell people to just not go outside. That\u2019s not a good prescription,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you know you have some environmental allergies, especially at specific times of the year, there are some things you can do to prepare. I usually say when the allergy season is starting and you\u2019re starting to get those symptoms is when you want to make sure you start those allergy medications, if you\u2019re not someone who needs to take them all year round. Start taking your antihistamines [and] your steroid nose sprays like Flonase. The steroids and antihistamines will be the key.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also adds that it\u2019s a good idea to change your clothes when you come in from the outdoors, as pollen can stick to fibers. Closing your windows can also help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe turn the air conditioner on a little sooner than you might have, just to avoid all that pollen getting in the house,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He says that allergists are also here to help, and that there are additional options beyond over-the-counter medications for people whose allergies are persistent or severe.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people with allergies can manage them on their own with over-the-counter medications, but I\u2019m here if you can\u2019t,\u201d he says.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOTO COURTESY OF ADOBE STOCK Although winter weather has been persistent \u2014 it has felt more like February…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5051,65462,30291,65463,1057,73,75,74,64230,19747],"class_list":["post-143127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-air-pollution","tag-allergies","tag-asthma","tag-global-warming","tag-health","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-pollen","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}