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Outdoor activities are increasing in spring, but pollen and ozone are not pleasant these days.
Especially in the case of pollen, it is threatening our health by flying longer and in large amounts than before, and the rapid climate change is having an impact.
Reporters Seo Dong-gyun and Jang Se-man covered the story.
<Reporter Seo Dong-gyun>
This is a cypress forest in Jeollabuk-do.
Cypress is a species that emits a lot of pollen in the spring, so let's ask how much the citizens really know.
[Hyung-soon Hyung/Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do: A lot of flowers bloom, so there are a lot of spring outings like this.
Cypress tree I didn't know that pollen was flying there.]
[Kang Hye-ran/Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do: It was only on the pine tree side.
I didn't know about cypress trees like this or anything else.]
Around this time of the year, pines, oaks, cedars, and even grasses emit pollen.
[Kim Gyu-rang / Researcher, Disaster and Meteorological Research Department, National Academy of Meteorology: One whole tree blooms for a week or ten days, and the whole mountain blooms for up to a month.
The pollen that comes out then eventually goes into the air...
.]
Uninvited guest in spring The number of pollen allergy sufferers is increasing every year.
Children with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable.
[Seominkyo/Children's patient: I want to play badminton, but if pollen flies, my concentration is a little disturbed.
My friends are having a good time, but I keep coughing and inhaling a bit...
.]
In spring, pollen is always blown away, but climate change is one of the reasons why the number of patients is increasing.
As a result of a recent analysis by an overseas research team, it was found that the flowering period is being extended as the temperature rises, and the period of pollen blowing is expected to be longer by up to 40 days in the future.
In addition, as the concentration of carbon dioxide increases, it is predicted that the amount of pollen in trees that absorb carbon and grow will increase by 1.5 times.
The pollen spreads longer, more often, and even more poisonous.
[Kim Gyu-rang / Researcher, Disaster and Meteorological Research Department, National Academy of Meteorology: (Pollen) Certain proteins that can cause allergies are attached to the outside.
But the amount of such protein could increase even more as the concentration of carbon dioxide increases…
.]
In addition, research results showed that pollen can mediate viruses such as corona in the air.
[Oh Jae-won / Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University Hospital: Pollen is flying and corona is increasing, and now that there is such a phenomenon, does not the pollen play an important role in spreading the virus of the corona...
.]
As the damage increases, trees that emit pollen are not planted in the city center, but it cannot prevent pollen from flying tens of kilometers in the wind.
Ultimately, the fundamental solution is to reduce the amount of pollen by preventing the increase in global temperature.
Another reason to stop climate change.
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<Environmental Correspondent Jang Se-man>
Pollen is not the only health damage caused by climate change.
Ozone, which is created from the combination of air pollutants, also irritates the respiratory tract and eyes, and the risk is increasing with climate change.
This is a view of Korea in summer captured by satellite imagery.
The entire Korean Peninsula is covered in something red.
The silent killer, 'Ozone'.
It shows at a glance how serious it is compared to winter.
With over a month left until summer, ozone levels have already reached advisory levels in some places.
[Ahn Jun-young/Researcher, National Institute of Environmental Sciences: Even though it is already April, the temperature of 25 degrees and strong solar radiation cause an active reaction when these conditions are met.] The
number of deaths from ozone diseases in Korea, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, has occurred in 10 years. It increased more than 2.3 times.
Unlike fine dust, ozone cannot be prevented even with a mask, so there is no other way than to reduce pollution or lower the temperature.
For every 1 degree increase in temperature due to climate change, diseases such as tsutsugamushi and malaria also increase by 4% or more.
Such damage is concentrated on the economically and socially vulnerable groups.
[Kwon Ho-jang/Professor, Dankook University College of Medicine (Climate Health Impact Assessment Study): When analyzing the damage caused by climate change, the elderly or men over 65 years old, and then the workers who work outdoors were more affected.]
Climate change is a real threat that permeates our daily lives and destroys our health.
(Video coverage: Kang Dong-cheol, Hwang In-seok, Choi Jun-sik, Kim Yong-woo, video editing: Lee So-young, design: Ban So-hee, Choi Ha-neul)