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This is Science Friday.

I'm Ira Plato with Flora Lickman.

Spring has sprung in many parts of the country.

Those first buds bursting, flowers opening. They're all welcome

signs of this season, right? Well, not if you have, listen to my voice, Flores. Not if you have allergies.

I can tell you, it's the endless sneezing, the watery eyes, the running noses. You get the picture.

You can hear it.

You can hear it.

Well, if misery loves company, you're not alone because according to the CDC, a quarter of

U.S. adults deal with seasonal allergies.

And if you think they're getting worse, it's not just in your stuffed head because

climate change, climate change does play a

big role. Joining me to talk about the science of seasonal allergies as my guest, Dr. Nita Ogden,

director of the allergy asthma and sinus center in Edison, New Jersey. She's right here with us in

the studios. Welcome to Science Friday. Thank you for having me.

So it's allergy season.

Our allergies on the rise.

Very much so.

This is a trend that, you know, it's been ongoing.

We're talking about it a lot now because climate change is very much a topic in the news and the headlines for many reasons. But this has been ongoing

for, I'd say, the last two decades, where we are seeing rising pollen counts, worsening

...