Map: South of France on highest alert for pollen allergies
Eight departments are on red alert due to the unseasonably warm weather
Tree pollen season has come even earlier this year amid rising temperatures
HBRH / Shutterstock
The southeast of France is on red alert (highest level) for allergies against pollen from cypress, ash, mimosa, and hazel, due to rising temperatures, the air quality network has warned.
The Réseau national de surveillance de l'aérobiologique (RNSA) updated its pollen allergy map on January 26.
It showed a yellow risk (medium level) in the lower third of the country, and a band of red (highest level) on the south-eastern border, from Pyrénées-Orientales to Alpes-Maritimes.
Temps doux et ensoleillé favorisant la dispersion des pollens.
Risque élevé pour les cyprès autour de la Méditerranée, faible à moyen pour les frênes.
Noisetier et aulne présents dans le nord avec un risque faible.
Restez informés pour protéger votre santé! #pollens pic.twitter.com/2Hfv97YILj
— Réseau National de Surveillance Aérobiologique (@rnsa_pollen) January 26, 2024
In a statement, the RNSA said that “with favourable winds, generous sunshine and remarkably mild temperatures sometimes in excess of 20°C between the Pyrenees, Languedoc and all around the Mediterranean, the January records could be approached or even exceeded”.
The risk from cypress is particularly high in Occitanie, the RNSA said, especially in Narbonne and Montpellier. The risk in Toulouse and Castres is moderate, it added.
The network continually updates its risk assessment and warnings on its website pollens.fr. Hovering over a department on the map brings up a table specifying the risk for each allergen.
For example, Var is on red alert for cypress and yellow for ash, but green (lowest level) for hazel. In contrast, Haute-Garonne is on yellow for cypress.
Warmer weather early last year (2023) also brought allergy warnings in February, but this year the warning has come even earlier. In summer 2022, experts warned that allergies were expected to intensify in coming years amid global warming.
There are typically three allergy seasons in France; the period of tree pollen, then grass pollen, and then herb and ragweed.
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