The warm and dry desert air appeals to allergy sufferers. But with more people comes air pollution, causing irritants such as smog to proliferate in a previously allergy-free area.
Contributing to the allergens in the air are the new trees planted for growing communities. The desert has been turned into sprawling neighborhoods with pollen-filled trees.
The areas that have seen the most population growth, as well as more allergens, include Tucson, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Cities such as Albuquerque have passed ordinances against the planting of certain high-pollen trees like cedar.
As the population grows, the air quality deteriorates. In the early 1980s, desert air was the cure for allergy sufferers, but currently, desert cities are becoming as allergy-prone as any large city in the nation.
