Ash and birch pollen replace hazel and alder pollen
Keystone-SDA
Following a very high concentration of hazel and alder pollen in the air in some places, allergy sufferers will have to be prepared for ash and birch pollen in the coming weeks. However, more and more ash trees are dying in Switzerland due to an East Asian fungus.
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The ever-spreading fungus causes the so-called ash dieback or ash wilt, the weather service MeteoNews reported on Tuesday. Young trees in particular die in rows after infection. Older trees die slowly over several years. This is why the concentration of ash pollen is generally declining. The ash pollen season began around a week ago.
In the next few days, however, the highly allergenic birch trees will also begin to bloom. According to the press release, one in five people in Switzerland is allergic to the most allergenic type of pollen among the trees.
+ City dwellers more likely to suffer from hay fever
In future, olive pollen could also increasingly affect allergy sufferers in this country. Like ash trees, which belong to the olive family, olive trees produce a lot of pollen. As it is getting milder in Switzerland, it is conceivable, according to MeteoNews, that the cultivation of olives will also begin in Switzerland.
The olive tree family also includes forsythia, lilac, jasmine, privet and broom. However, these trees and shrubs produce significantly less and also less aggressive pollen.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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