Birch trees are currently in full bloom across much of Sweden. The situation for allergy suffers in the south of the country is particularly bad, as pollen levels there have reached their peak.
As if that wasn't bad news by itself, the season looks like it will be unusually long this year, following a cool start to the spring.
"Birch trees ‒ and other trees ‒ have a limited amount of pollen to release, and when it's warm, more is released," biologist Åslög Dahl, who was previously responsible for the pollen laboratory at Gothenburg University, told the TT newswire.
"When the weather is cool, it slows down, and a little bit is released each day."
According to Dahl, it's not clear yet if this year's pollen season will be record-breaking, but it does look like it will be long, at least for those allergic to birch pollen.
"The season can vary a lot from year to year, and it's difficult to say what's normal, but this year's season is not exceptional," Dahl said.
Willow and oak pollen suffers are luckier, as there is currently a low risk of high pollen counts up and down the country. For people allergic to grass pollen, the worst is yet to come, with the season starting in mid-May and lasting the entire summer.
"It's hard to know yet if that will be a long season, as flowering hasn't really started properly yet," Dahl said.
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