Pollen levels remain high in three South African cities this week
· The South African
Tree pollen levels have dropped in several parts of South Africa, but Cape Town, Pretoria and Potchefstroom continue to record high concentrations.
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The latest pollen report shows that tree pollen remains the main concern for people who suffer from seasonal allergies.
Cape Town also recorded moderate grass pollen levels, while weed pollen and mould concentrations remained generally low across the monitoring sites.
Cape Town: Tree pollen remains high
Cape Town continues to record high tree pollen levels, with olive trees contributing the most pollen.
Other trees releasing pollen include cypress, pine, oak, mulberry, gum, plane and yellowwood.
Grass pollen has reached moderate levels, making Cape Town the only monitored city to record moderate grass concentrations this week.
Weed pollen remains low, while mould levels are generally low despite occasional increases in Alternaria, a type of mould that can trigger allergies.
Johannesburg: Rain helps reduce pollen
Johannesburg recorded low tree, grass and weed pollen levels this week.
Rain throughout the week likely helped wash pollen out of the air, reducing the amount people could breathe in.
Trees releasing pollen included birch, false olive, mulberry, plane, pine and oak.
Mould concentrations also remained low.
Pretoria: High tree pollen expected
Pretoria continues to face high tree pollen levels, although the monitoring team could not analyse this week’s sample.
A courier delay prevented the pollen strip from arriving in time, so researchers used six-year averages to estimate conditions.
The estimates indicate high tree pollen levels, with possible contributions from jacaranda, acacia, cypress, olive, pine, oak and several other trees.
Weed pollen and mould levels are expected to remain low.
Bloemfontein and Kimberley: Pollen levels drop
Bloemfontein recorded a decline in tree pollen, with concentrations falling to low levels.
Several trees continue to flower, including acacia, cypress, gum, olive, oak and karee.
Weed pollen and mould levels also remained low.
Kimberley recorded low pollen concentrations across all categories. The monitoring station detected pollen from several trees, including birch, cypress, pine, plane and elm, but found no weed pollen.
Durban and Gqeberha: Low pollen levels
Durban recorded low tree, grass and weed pollen concentrations.
Trees releasing pollen included jacaranda, cypress, birch, gum, oak and yellowwood.
The monitoring station also detected several weed types and fern spores, although overall concentrations remained low.
Gqeberha recorded similarly low pollen levels across all categories.
Trees contributing pollen included acacia, cedar, cypress, gum, olive, pine and yellowwood.
Mould concentrations remained low in both coastal cities.
George: Low pollen levels expected
George is expected to experience low pollen concentrations across all categories.
Researchers used two-year averages to estimate conditions at this monitoring site.
Trees that may contribute pollen include Australian pine, cypress and yellowwood, while grass, weed and mould concentrations are expected to remain low.
Potchefstroom: Pine pollen dominates
Potchefstroom remains one of the areas with high tree pollen concentrations this week.
Pine trees contributed the most pollen, while birch, olive, cypress, mulberry, oak and yellowwood also released pollen.
Grass and mould levels remained low, with rainfall helping to reduce concentrations.
Weed pollen included pigweed, plantain, sedges and bulrush.
What should allergy sufferers know?
Although pollen levels have dropped in several cities, people who suffer from seasonal allergies may still experience symptoms in areas with high tree pollen concentrations.
Pollen can trigger sneezing, itchy eyes, a runny nose and nasal congestion.
Rain can temporarily reduce airborne pollen, while dry and windy conditions can carry pollen through the air.
The latest readings also show that pollen levels can vary considerably between cities, even during the same week.