Warm temperatures bring out Spring-like nature around us

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – It is warming up and Mother Nature is responding to those warm temperatures.

You may have recognized this warm weather lately or even pulled out your spring or summer clothes but have you thought about the effects that this warm weather could have on nature and even you?

Grasses are beginning to pop up, and plants that are usually bare this time of year are beginning to bloom.

What’s going on around here?

Nature expert Dr. John Long has an explanation for that.

“These unseasonably warm temperatures that we have been having over an extended period of time have been causing a lot of things to become more active than usual,” said Long.

And, there’s even a buzz in the air.

“A lot of flowers are starting to bloom and the insects are definitely starting to come out and move. We have a lot of insects moving around here right now that are in the flowers and they are feeding on pollen. It’s the availability of it and that’s why they are active,” said Long.

While that pollen is great for insects and plants, for many people it hurts more than it helps.

“It won’t be long now until we start seeing those massive clouds of pollen. A lot of times when you see that. That is a result of the pine trees that are starting to bloom and to start pollinating other pine trees so we will be seeing that before too long and unfortunately the allergies that’s when it really kicks in,” said Long.

And that’s where professionals, like Allergy specialist Dr. Phillip Hooker, come in.

Hooker said allergies are really cranking up, but that’s not the only ailment people are dealing with.

“A lot of times patients will come in thinking they have a cold and it really turns out to be an allergy and probably the best way to tell with a cold is that you should have a fever and with allergies, you should not have any fever at all,” said Hooker.

And not everyone is allergic to pollen but if you are make sure you stay away from it as much as possible.

That may mean resisting the urge to open the windows on these beautiful Spring-like days, and turning on the fan or AC instead.

Hooker said it is alright to use over-the-counter allergy medicines to help get you through the day and suggests you switch it up every now and then so you don’t become immune to them.

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