Get ready for The Pollening
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The green haze will soon return to the Triangle, wafting over the highways and stuffing up your sinuses.
Why it matters: The Raleigh area, like many cities in the U.S., is seeing longer allergy seasons as climate change lengthens the freeze-free growing season in the region, according to a new analysis by Climate Central.
Zoom in: Between 1970 and 2025, nearly 90% of cities analyzed by Climate Central saw longer growing seasons.
- That's the time between the last and first freeze, used here to represent allergy season.
Driving the news: Raleigh's allergy season has lengthened by 41 days over that time period, according to the Climate Central analysis.
What they're saying: "As temperatures rise, freeze-free seasons are stretching in every region of the country, giving plants weeks of extra time to grow and release pollen," Climate Central's Vice President for Science Kristy Dahl said in a statement.
- "For millions of Americans, that means earlier, longer, and often more intense allergy seasons that can take a real toll on health and daily life."
The big picture: Pollen levels are already hitting moderate levels, and you can expect that to continue to grow over the rest of the month.