Ragweed, otherwise known as Ambrosia artemisiifolia, is a weed that is native to North America that causes suffering for hay fever victims every year. If warmer weather and climate change continues, ragweed migration could bring that suffering to the UK and beyond…
Ragweed migration has been seen to cause ragweed to travel over various parts of Europe since the 1960s, but it has remained rare to see in the UK. However, if recent predictions prove to be true, ragweed migration will cause this horrible allergy-causing weed to travel to the UK by 2050.
Ragweed Migration Causes Pollen in East Midlands
Already some ragweed migration has occurred, as scientists at the University of Leicester logged aerial ragweed pollen amounts in East Midlands that were high enough to be the source of substantial hay fever bouts. According to data published in the Nature Climate Change journal, if climate change and global warming conditions turn out to be as bad as has been predicted, then ragweed migration will cause the ragweed pollen to travel in larger amounts all over northern Europe, which includes the UK.
Data Shows Misery in Store for Europe
This data was discovered by researchers from the Laboratory of the Sciences of Climate and the Environment in Gif-sur-Yvette, France, which found that ragweed migration due to global warming and climate change will cause the ragweed to move toward and within Europe, and cause four times as much of the allergen to appear in the area by 2050. In fact, parts of the study show that some areas of Europe and the UK could see a rise in ragweed of up to 12 times as much as is now seen.
Ragweed is Long Lived, Hard to Get Rid Of
The ragweed plant is a very sturdy, long-lived plant that is very hard to kill or eradicate once it gets a foothold somewhere. It is very resistant to poisons, and it has a tendency to return once it is cut down. One ragweed plant is said to be able to produce a billion grains of pollen and the pollen can travel up to hundreds of miles and can even survive during a mild winter season.
Ragweed migration has already allowed this noxious weed to grow in parts of Italy and France, and will likely allow it to travel to the UK and northern Europe in higher amounts in the near future, so allergy sufferers in those locations should stock up on antihistamines and boxes of tissues.
