Latest news with #Cams
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Europe's extreme pollen triggered symptoms in those not known to have allergies, data shows
Pollen levels were so extreme in parts of Europe during spring that even people not known to suffer allergies felt the effects of hay fever, data has shown. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams) observed a seasonal rise in grass and olive pollen release and transport across southern Europe and 'extreme levels' of birch pollen in north-eastern regions, it said on Thursday. Finland, in particular, experienced 'extreme daily means of birch pollen' in May 'that led to symptoms even among individuals without known allergies', the EU agency said in its latest air quality update. Scientists say the climate crisis is altering the production and distribution of pollen and spores, as more and more people report developing allergy symptoms. As winter frost thaws earlier and spring weather gets warmer, plants and trees flower earlier, extending the pollen season and misery for allergy sufferers. About a quarter of adults in Europe suffer from airborne allergies, including severe asthma. The proportion among children is 30% to 40%. That figure is expected to rise to half of Europeans by 2050, according to the World Health Organization. Laurence Rouil, the director of Cams, said bouts of extremely high pollen levels were not unusual in spring but noted the particular 'severity and extent' of this year's episode. Air pollution can also increase people's sensitivity to allergens, while invasive species are spreading into new regions and causing fresh waves of allergies. Between March and May, air quality across Europe was also affected by wildfires. April fire emissions in the UK were the second highest since 2003, while the Netherlands recorded unprecedented wildfire emissions levels in this period of the year, Cams said. Farther afield, large wildfires in eastern Russia sent significant smoke into China and Japan and plumes from major blazes in Canada were observed over Europe in late May, it added.
Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Pollen levels so high that people with no allergies suffer from hay fever
Pollen levels have been so high this year that hay fever has been triggered in non-sufferers. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams), which is an EU weather agency, reported a rise in grass and olive pollen release and transport across southern Europe, as well as 'extreme levels' of birch pollen in north-eastern regions. Western Finland in particular had seen 'extreme daily means of birch pollen' in May which 'led to symptoms even among individuals without known allergies', the agency said in its air quality update this month. The symptoms of hay fever – sneezing, itchy eyes, a runny nose and a headache – are caused by the body producing allergic antibodies when it comes into contact with pollen. Laurence Rouil, the director of Cams, noted the 'severity and extent' of this year's bout of pollen as a reminder of the importance of atmospheric monitoring to minimise health impacts 'specially for vulnerable populations'. Around a quarter of adults in Europe are afflicted by airborne allergies, which the World Health Organisation expects to rise to half by 2050. Almost half of British adults already suffer hay fever symptoms, according to Allergy UK, and 37 per cent developed them for the first time in the past five years. The driest start to a spring in Britain since 1956 has led to an 'explosion' in hay fever symptoms, as plants and trees flowered earlier, lengthening the pollen season. Dr Beverley Adams-Groom, the UK's chief pollen forecaster, observed that a changing climate is making the pollen season, which typically lasts from March to September, longer. As a result, the two main types of allergenic pollen – tree and grass – are overlapping more. Symptoms have been exacerbated this year by the lasting effects of wildfires on air quality and air pollution levels. Invasive species spreading to new regions have also brought pollen with them. Dr Adrian Morris, of the Allergy Clinic at Guildford Nuffield Hospital, Surrey, warned earlier this year that those with symptoms were also not responding to standard medications as quickly, indicating increased resistance to antihistamines. He said: 'It's possibly because the pollen counts are getting higher, and there is a thing called tachyphylaxis, where your body seems to not be as responsive to the antihistamines as it was before. 'People are afraid to go out of doors to the park, and we find hay fever is worse with city dwellers than countryside, because diesel mixes with the pollen and drives it deeper into their airways.'
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Europe's extremely high pollen levels triggered allergies in some for first time, data shows
Pollen levels were so extreme in parts of Europe during spring that even people not known to suffer allergies felt the effects of hay fever, data has shown. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams) observed a seasonal rise in grass and olive pollen release and transport across southern Europe and 'extreme levels' of birch pollen in north-eastern regions, it said on Thursday. Finland, in particular, experienced 'extreme daily means of birch pollen' in May 'that led to symptoms even among individuals without known allergies', the EU agency said in its latest air quality update. Scientists say that the climate crisis is altering the production and distribution of pollen and spores, as more and more people report developing allergy symptoms. As winter frost thaws earlier and spring weather gets warmer, plants and trees flower earlier, extending the pollen season and misery for allergy sufferers. About a quarter of adults in Europe suffer from airborne allergies, including severe asthma. The proportion among children is 30% to 40%. That figure is expected to rise to half of Europeans by 2050, according to the World Health Organization. Laurence Rouil, the director of Cams, said bouts of extremely high pollen levels were not unusual in spring but noted the particular 'severity and extent' of this year's episode. Air pollution can also increase people's sensitivity to allergens, while invasive species are spreading into new regions and causing fresh waves of allergies. Between March and May, air quality across Europe was also affected by wildfires. April fire emissions in the UK were the second highest since 2003, while the Netherlands recorded unprecedented wildfire emissions levels in this period of the year, Cams said. Farther afield, large wildfires in eastern Russia sent significant smoke into China and Japan and plumes from major blazes in Canada were observed over Europe in late May, it added.
