Weather – Offenbach am Main – Pollen allergy sufferers have to be prepared for higher exposure – Panorama

Essen / Freiburg (dpa / lnw) – Pollen allergy sufferers have to be prepared for increased exposure on the coming, spring-like days. The hazel and alder pollen season “changes from crawling to turbo”, reported the German Pollen Information Service Foundation. “In the west and south of the republic, high pollen loads from these two allergen carriers will find their way into the low altitudes (…),” says a prognosis. “The alder will increasingly take the reins in hand and, compared to the hazel, will leave a stronger impression on those affected by allergies.” The frosty air killed some of the hazel kittens. The rest of the hazel pollen season is accordingly somewhat weaker.

The pollen experts from the German Weather Service confirm the forecast. For North Rhine-Westphalia, Christina Endler from the Center for Medical Meteorological Research in Freiburg expects only a “weak to moderate” exposure to hazel pollen in the next few days. The hazel tends to be in the second bloom. For the alder, she expects a “moderate to heavy” load on the weekend and in the days after in NRW.

The experts at the Pollen Foundation expect that due to the mild temperatures, more plants will be added and the pollen spectrum will widen. Especially in the lowlands of western and southern Germany, the rising temperatures would be sufficient to help the yew tree to break through. However, yew pollen is not a well-known cause of allergies.

According to the DWD, more than 15 percent of the population in Germany are allergic to pollen, and the trend is increasing. Symptoms are runny nose, conjunctivitis or asthma.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210219-99-503849 / 2

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