The season of red, itchy eyes and sneezing is back as maps show over two thirds of France is currently on high alert for different pollen groups.
The latest risk map published by Réseau national de surveillance aérobiologique (RNSA) shows all departments in metropolitan France are on alert with 60 of them on high alert.
In its most recent update on Friday (April 7), the RNSA said birch pollen “is spreading through the air like Easter eggs!”
It added that the risk is high across the north-east of France while maps published show the risk is medium in the north west and low in the south. Birch is the most widespread - and impactful - pollen in France.
Hornbeam pollen (which is from the same family as birch) meanwhile is mostly present in the middle and east France while ash pollen levels vary from medium to low across the country, except in the Manche and Calvados departments in Normandy where alert levels are high.
In the south, there is a cocktail of oak, Cypress and weed pollens that will increase allergy risks “on springtime days”. Plane tree pollen has benefited from the warm weather to spread across France, but the risk level is still medium with “moderate” concentrations in towns.
