Climate

The itchy eyes, sneezes and scratchy throats many Minnesotans are experiencing this spring are causing extended misery due to a longer — and stronger — local allergy season.

Driving the discomfort: Allergy season in Minneapolis increased by an average of 34 days between 1970 and 2021, per an analysis from Climate Central, a nonprofit climate news organization.

This year's frustrating April weather had us switching from heat to air conditioning and then back to heat again — and that was just over the course of one week.

Driving the news: For the second year in a row, April in the Twin Cities was a letdown.

Air quality in the Twin Cities remains better than the national average, but progress in improving local pollution levels has largely stalled in recent years.

Why it matters: Fine particles, generated from fossil fuel-burning and other sources, can enter our bodies when we breathe, making their way to the lungs or bloodstream and causing myriad health problems.