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DAYTON — For many in the area, a frost sure would be nice right now.

Not because it's hot and sticky outside but because of ragweed, the primary cause of fall allergy symptoms and the bane of an estimated 36 million Americans.

"Labor Day has always been the peak weekend for ragweed," said Brian Huxtable, air pollution control specialist for Regional Air Pollution Control Agency, a division of Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County.

Shorter days and longer nights that start in mid-August stimulate pollination in the ragweed plant, but global climate change is believed to be making it worse, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Researchers have decisively linked climate change to "longer pollen seasons, greater exposure and increased disease burden for late summer weeds such as ragweed," allergist Richard W. Weber writes in this month's Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Among several findings, Weber writes that increased carbon dioxide has resulted in pollen production increases of 61-90 percent in some ragweed varieties.

One ragweed plant can produce 1 billion pollen grains in an average season. Due to the grains' light weight, they can travel up to 400 miles with the breeze, leaving virtually no outdoor place ragweed-free.

Locally, Huxtable said this year's ragweed counts aren't much different than in previous years. Pollen counts should begin to trail off now that Labor Day has passed, he said.

A frost kills ragweed and usually ends the season for most sufferers, typically in October.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7408 or agottschlich@coxohio.com.

Tips for ragweed relief:

• Keep windows closed to keep pollen outside homes and cars. Use the air conditioner, which filters, cools and dries air.
• Stay indoors when pollen counts are highest, typically between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Change clothing after time spent outdoors and avoid drying laundry outside.
• Sleep well by taking a shower before bed to wash pollen from your hair and face, preventing it from ending up on your pillow.
• In the Miami Valley, check daily pollen counts at the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency's Web site, rapca.org.

Source: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. www.aaaai.org.