hayfever

autopollen

Pan-European initiative to provide pollen forecasts based on near real-time observations

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring service (CAMS) recently formed a new partnership with the European Aeroallergen Network (EAN,) and will explore ground breaking technology to deliver automatic pollen observations in near real-time across Europe. Every year during spring and early summer comes a chorus of sneezing, wheezing and sniffling, because this is peak hay fever season […]

automatic pollencount

Process of Automatic Pollencounting

The process starts bottom left with trees, grasses or herbs producing pollen, which become airborn. Step 1. Collect & fix pollen Collecting these pollen from the air with some kind of vacuum cleaner. Of course the volume of air processed in a certain period of time is important since you want information about the concentration […]

autopollen

Pollencount by hour

This graph is an example of pollenconcentration during three different types of days. Day 1 shows airborn pollen between 9:00 and 17:00. Day 2 shows a pollenpeak during the early morning hours. Day 3 shows a peak in the evening. Weatherconditions, like a rainshower, a sunny or cloudy day, have big influence on the hourly […]

allergy

Poa annua, meadow grass

About Poa annua Poa annua, or annual meadow grass (known in America more commonly as annual bluegrass or simply poa), is a widespread low-growing turfgrass in temperate climates. Though P. annua is commonly considered a solely annual plant due to its name, perennial bio-types do exist. ‘Poa’ is Greek for fodder. It is one of […]

allergy

Mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris

About  Mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort or common wormwood) is one of several species in the genus Artemisia commonly known as mugwort, although Artemisia vulgaris is the species most often called mugwort. This species is also occasionally known as riverside wormwood, felon herb, chrysanthemum weed, wild wormwood, old Uncle Henry, sailor’s tobacco, naughty man, […]

allergy

Ambrosia

About Ambrosia Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus Ambrosia in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, especially North America, where the origin and center of diversity of the genus are in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Several species have been introduced […]

ambrosia

Herb calendar

This calendar shows when specific types of herbs are flowering  (in the Netherlands), each herb is explained by a short video. Parietaria judaice and Ambrosia artemisiifolia are the most allergenic. Most allergenic herbs: Rumex acetosa   Plantago lanceolata   Parietaria judaica more information >> Urtica dioica   Artemisia vulgaris more information about Artemisia vulgaris >> […]

calendar

Grass calendar

This example calendar shows when specific  grasses are flowering (in the Netherlands). The calendar is video-based. Every grasstype is explained by a short video. Alopecurus pratensis Image: Alopecurus pratensis, Meadow foxtail. Five stages in ripening of the inflorescense and opening of the anthers to free pollen. more information >> Dactylis glomerata Poa pratensis Anthoxanthum odoratum […]

air

Winddirection and pollenpressure

Are winddirection, pollenconcentration and pollenpressure correlated? It very much depends on your location. This graph shows that for the Netherlands a south-east wind is less favourable, as it can bring pollen from Germany and Belgium. When you live on a small island like Helgaland, every winddirection is favourable. Besides winddirection also windspeed is correlated.

beaufort

Windspeed and pollenconcentration

Are windspeed and pollenconcentration correlated? It seems that in periods with a low windspeed the average complainlevel is higher that during periods of high windspeed. A more detailed graph is not available yet.