Switzerland/ A map of pollen measurements almost in real time

With the arrival of highly allergenic pollens such as birch, MeteoSwiss is testing an automatic network for measuring pollen in the air.

The birch trees are beginning to bloom both south and north of the Alps. Their highly allergenic pollen will affect many people in the coming weeks, says MeteoSwiss.

The birch season generally extends from the end of March to the end of April for the lower regions of the Plateau. In the mountains, the season will start a fortnight to a month later, depending on the altitude. In addition, at higher altitudes, the season is generally more extended, lasting two months.

Traces of the first pollens have already been observed this year, notably in Geneva.

New pollen map

MeteoSwiss is currently presenting a new automatic pollen measurement network. In test phase, it does not claim to be exhaustive nor 100% reliable. But it is an indicator that could become precious for people particularly sensitive to pollens, for example to choose a place to walk.

The national pollen measuring network consists of 14 measuring stations covering the main climatic and vegetation zones of Switzerland. The concentrations of 48 pollens are measured there.

Additional measuring stations are operated to monitor ragweed pollen. The data obtained provide valuable information for allergy sufferers.

Source: www.lenouvelliste.ch