It was balmy weather in Orlando for the recent meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and World Allergy Organization (WAO) Joint Congress. Farther up the East Coast, a nor'easter dropped over 2 feet of snow in some areas, and yet less than 2 weeks earlier, the temperature in Central Park in New York City was "unseasonably warm" at 76° F. It could not have been staged better for the meeting's theme of "Global Environmental Change and Respiratory Health." Plenary sessions were focused on different facets of this issue.
Nelson A. Rosario, MD, PhD, presented the case for "The Effect of Climate Change on Pollen Allergy and Respiratory Allergic Diseases." Citing an article from the New England Journal of Medicine,[1] he discussed a number of extreme weather events that adversely affected human health, including the following:
1998: Hurricane Mitch dropped 6 feet of rain on Central America in 3 days, followed by a spike in cases of malaria, dengue fever, cholera, and leptospirosis.
2003: A summer heatwave in Europe contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands and caused wilted crops, abetted forest fires, and melted 10% of the Alpine glacial mass.
There is clear and convincing evidence
