Weather experts are warning hay fever sufferers about "particularly potent" pollen. According to the Met Office, the pollen forecast will be high or very high for many areas of England and Wales over the next week - with different species of grass now releasing pollen into the air.
This is expected to continue to impact the one in five people who suffer from hay fever in the UK. The potency of pollen grains could be more intense this year, the Met Office warned.
According to the Mirror, Met Office relationship manager for health and air quality, Yolanda Clewlow, told the Weather Snap podcast: "The grass pollen season usually follows quite a consistent pattern and there tends to be two peaks, one in the first half of June and then another one in early July. That's because we have about 150 different species of grass and they all flower at different times over spring and summer, although only some of them are allergenic."
She added: "In terms of the numbers of pollen grains in the air, what we're seeing isn't especially noteworthy compared to what we've had in previous years. However, the potency of these pollen grains could be more intense this year, and that comes down to the weather we've had in spring.
"A warm and wet May, coupled with a relatively warm spring, means there's a chance that the pollen that has developed is particularly potent, even if the amounts aren't dramatically different." According to Met Office provisional statistics, May this year was the fifth warmest on record, with slightly above average rainfall for the UK.
