Hay fever sufferers warned of 'intense' pollen levels this summer by experts

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Pollen in the UK could be “more intense” this year compared to previous ones, an expert has warned. The levels of pollen in Scotland have so far remained at fairly low levels on the Met Office’s pollen forecast.

And they are expected to remain at a low level throughout this weekend, with a chance of it rising to moderate in southern Scotland at points.

However, people in England and Wales will have to contend with high to very high levels of pollen over this weekend. Grass pollen is firmly in focus following the spring release of many types of tree pollen.There is expected to be a peak in grass pollen levels during the first half of this month, and another during early July.And while the number of pollen grains expected this year has been described as ‘not especially noteworthy’, there are fears over the potency of the pollen grains.Yolanda Clewlow, Met Office Relationship Manager for Health and Air Quality, explains: “In terms of the numbers of pollen grains in the air, what we’re seeing isn’t especially noteworthy compared to what we’ve had in previous years. “However, the potency of these pollen grains could be more intense this year, and that comes down to the weather we’ve had in spring. “A warm and wet May, coupled with a relatively warm spring, means there’s a chance that the pollen that has developed is particularly potent, even if the amounts aren’t dramatically different.”Met Office statistics reveal that May this year was the fifth warmest ever on record.

This, tied in with slightly above average rainfall for the UK, has resulted in good growing conditions for some species of grass.The meteorological body is also investigating the impact that thunder and lightning has on the symptoms of hay fever.Yolanda