Smoke and its affect on respiratory health have been understood for milenia. However, the relationship that we now understand – as the concentration of airborne pollutants from heavy industry and fossil fuel combustion rises, life expectancy of those exposed decreases – was only scientifically accepted in the 20th century, and quickly inspired legislation that successfully and dramatically curtailed air pollutant emissions nationwide. The pollutants regulated were not green house gasses (such as CO2 or methane), but rather the reactive compounds known to impact personal and environmental health directly such as carbon monoxide (CO), SO2, NO/NO2, O3, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

Because these pollutants are suspended in air, they are subject to weather and localized wind patterns. Thus, wind (or its absence) plays a critical role in the distribution of pollutants through urban areas. We can see this relationship play out to dramatic affect in the mid 20th century, when temperature inversions in major metropolitan areas stopped air flow and trapped pollutants close to the source, leading to major smog events that increased hospitalization and death rates. Conversely, wind can redistribute contaminants to affect areas a large distance away from the pollutant source. Wildfires are an excellent example, as fine PM2.5 particulate matter travels from hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles away, and leads to visible and harmful pollution downstream. On a smaller scale, down-wind areas close to highways and airports are visibly affected in NYC air quality data, and accordingly mirror maps of both elevated asthma rates.

Where human produced pollution is merely moved by wind, natural airborne irritants are in fact strengthened by it. Airborne pollen, produced by wind pollinated trees and grasses, is one of a suite of allergens that cause, trigger, and compounded chronic asthma, especially in at-risk populations. As many as 35% of resident in New York suffer from seasonal allergies. Moreover, in today’s changing climate, pollen levels are compounded by shifting atmospheric compositions: as CO2 concentrations and temperatures rise, plants have begun to produce more pollen as plants reproduce more vigorously and pollen seasons shift earlier in the calendar. Additionally, pollen granules can physically interact with airborne pollutants to expose more of the proteins within, thus increasing their allergenic potential. This trend is especially concerning given the increasing prevalence of broad-specturm atopy (potential to develop allergies) in today’s population.

All major subsistence grasses rely on airborne pollination: rice, corn, and wheat, and all ancient precursors. Thus, the future ramifications for the interface between the human actors and the non-human is unknown, but this project speculates that the two can more effectively coexist in a mutually beneficial environment. “We observed in one of our study where we were looking at cockroach exposure and combustion byproduct exposure, we found that it was a combination of those two that led to kids being more likely to develop allergies,” said Perzanowski. So while it may be a combination of any given factors that trigger asthma in one group of people, it might be a completely different set of reasons for another group. Consider the case of Pakistan, a developing country where asthma rates are low. “One of the causes of greater risk of asthma is the harsher climate of America as opposed to Pakistan, it is also the prevalence of high polluting industries and occupational hazards, like inhaling polluted or contaminated air in and around factories,” said Dr. Shahab Ahmed Khan, of the District Headquarter Hospital in Faisalabad. Even Islamabad, the capital which is also known as the asthma capital, has a rate of only 5 percent. The cause: mulberry trees, whose pollen and fruit trigger allergic reactions. Meanwhile, in neighborhoods like Red Hook, the breathing difficulties, questions and research continues. Perzanowski recently was awarded a $720,000 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to examine the links between mold and asthma.”