If you live in the Northeast and suffer from seasonal allergies, it's time to stock up on tissues.
Allergy experts at Hackensack Meridian Health say the 2025 spring allergy season is shaping up to be one of the worst in recent memory, fueled by an unusually cold winter and warmer, drier weather ahead.
This season has already kicked off with pollen counts 10 to 20 percent higher than average in some parts of the country, according to Dr. Leonard Bielory, allergist, immunologist, and professor of medicine at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.
According to Dr. Bielory, trees across the Northeast stayed dormant longer this winter due to colder-than-usual temperatures and extra precipitation. Now that the weather is warming up, trees are releasing their pollen all at once.
The result, according to experts, is a burst of tree pollen for allergy sufferers across the region.
The allergy season typically begins with maple tree pollen, followed by birch and oak in April and May.
But that's just the beginning.
Grass pollen will follow close behind, and allergy forecasters are warning of above-average grass pollen levels this summer, especially in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert.
"Millions of people living with seasonal allergies will be struggling with more intense symptoms that will likely stick around longer this year," Reppert said. "You can blame wet and warm weather patterns for pollen levels that will reach higher than the historical average in many places."
Even now, some patients are already feeling it.
Dr. Mohammed Younus, allergist and immunologist at Hackensack University Medical Center, says his patients are showing early signs of spring allergies -- including itchy eyes and scratchy throats.
He also warned that mold could become a problem if the season turns rainy: A very wet spring can lead to increased mold, which can cause symptoms for a completely different group of allergy sufferers, Dr. Younus said.
And then there's climate change -- a factor both doctors say is making everything worse.
"Carbon dioxide can increase pollen levels and make them more potent," said Dr. Younus, noting that his patients are reporting more severe and longer-lasting symptoms, including wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, and even eyelid swelling.
A 2022 study in Nature Communications projects that pollen production could increase by up to 200% by the year 2100. Other studies have tied rising CO₂ levels directly to increased ragweed and grass pollens.
Both HMH doctors agree the best defense is a good offense. Their tips include:
Tree pollen may fade by late spring, but grass and weed pollen will keep coming through the summer and early fall.
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