People in Georgia who feel their allergy problems persist beyond a typical season aren't imagining things.
Warmer winters, longer growing seasons, and higher carbon dioxide levels are pushing plants to release pollen earlier, stay active longer, and put out more of it overall.
That shift is turning allergies from a short-lived nuisance into a real public health concern, especially in areas where tree pollen shows up before spring and fall weeds stay active deep into autumn.
Here's what to know
Augusta remains one of the tougher metro areas in the country for people with seasonal allergies. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America's 2025 Allergy Capitals report placed Augusta among the U.S. metro areas that are hardest on people with seasonal allergies, and the Augusta Chronicle reported that climate change is lengthening Georgia's allergy season.
Georgia doesn't have a single, clearly defined allergy season. Instead, the state moves from tree pollen to grass pollen and then to weed pollen, particularly ragweed, as the year goes on.
Warm fall weather in the Southeast can sometimes keep ragweed around into November, or until a hard frost arrives. Parts of Georgia can see cedar, juniper, oak, and birch begin releasing pollen as early as January or February.
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Pollen seasons in the United States have grown by about three weeks, and plants are also putting out roughly 20% more pollen. Higher carbon dioxide levels can spur plant growth and boost the amount of allergens plants send into the air.
More background
More time spent around pollen can mean additional days of congestion, itchy eyes, sinus pressure, lost sleep, and asthma flare-ups.
Georgia's humid climate adds another challenge. Even when pollen starts to fade, mold can become a problem both indoors and outdoors. Heavy rainfall can leave decaying leaves and yard debris behind, and as that material breaks down, it releases mold spores into the air, a separate trigger for people who already struggle to breathe easily.
Public health agencies have warned that climate change can harm people, along with agriculture and wildlife. Milder winters interfere less with pollination, and longer frost-free stretches give trees, grasses, and weeds more time to develop.
As seasons shift, day-to-day tracking becomes more useful. Atlanta Allergy & Asthma uses a Rotorod machine for daily pollen counts, giving a general sense of how intense different allergens are on any given day.
What can be done?
Treating pollen like a forecastable exposure is one of the most helpful steps. Checking local pollen counts, limiting outdoor time when levels are high, and keeping windows closed on high-pollen days can cut down on how much pollen ends up inside the home.
Simple routines can also make a difference. Showering after spending time outside, changing clothes, and washing bedding often are all ways to cut down on lingering pollen and mold spores indoors.
People with persistent symptoms may also want to talk to a doctor or allergist about other strategies.
Communities can prepare better for changing allergy seasons as forecasting improves and public awareness grows. But better monitoring does not change the pattern of warming temperatures pushing the pollen calendar outward.
In Georgia, spring no longer covers the whole allergy problem. Warmer winters, longer freeze-free periods, and lingering fall weeds are making symptoms harder to avoid, and for many residents, allergies can feel less seasonal than constant.
Where can I learn more?
Georgia is not alone in seeing allergy season spill outside its usual boundaries. Warmer temperatures, lingering heat, and higher pollen counts are showing up in daily forecasts, doctors' offices, and ragweed outlooks around the country.
• Allergists say numbers are continually getting worse as climate change intensifies seasonal sickness.
• Across the U.S., pollen seasons have lengthened as prolonged summer heat stretches fall allergies.
• Nationwide, early spring pollen arrives sooner as warming temperatures disrupt seasonal patterns.
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