Spring allergies: Where pollen levels are highest in SA

Tree pollen remains the main concern for people with allergies across several parts of South Africa, with high counts continuing at inland monitoring sites.

The latest pollen report shows high or significant tree pollen in several areas, while grass and weed pollen remained consistently low across the sampled sites.

Here is what the latest pollen readings show in each area.

Cape Town

Pollen concentrations dropped sharply in Cape Town, with no peaks recorded at the monitoring site.

Trees detected included cypress, waxberry, pine, plane, yellowwood, gum and oak.

Weed pollen included the daisy family, goosefoot, erica and protea, while mould levels remained low.

Johannesburg

Johannesburg recorded another round of tree pollen peaks.

The monitoring site detected birch, false olive, bushwillow, sweetgum, pine, plane, oak, karee and elm.

Mugwort was among the weeds detected, while mould levels remained low.

Pretoria

Pretoria continued to record high tree pollen levels.

The site detected a wide range of trees, including birch, Australian pine, cypress, bushwillow, jacaranda, gum, olive, pine, yellowwood, poplar, oak, karee and elm.

Weed pollen remained low.

Mould levels were generally low, but the site recorded moderate peaks of Cladosporium, an allergenic mould.

Bloemfontein

Significant tree pollen concentrations continued in Bloemfontein, with plane the dominant tree detected.

Other trees included birch, false olive, hackberry, cypress, mulberry, waxberry, gum, olive, pine, bushwillow, yellowwood, poplar and karee.

Weed pollen and mould levels remained low.

Durban

Durban recorded significant tree pollen.

The monitoring site detected several trees, including palm, Australian pine, hackberry, birch, bushwillow, cypress, ebony, ash, mulberry, gum, pine, yellowwood, poplar and elm.

Weed pollen remained low.

The report’s overall summary noted mould peaks in Durban, although the detailed results for the city described mould levels as low.

Gqeberha

Pollen and mould levels remained low in Gqeberha.

Trees detected included acacia, Australian pine, gum, cedar, pine, cypress, olive and plane, while yellowwood was the dominant tree.

Weed pollen included sedges and mezereum.

George

The report uses two-year averages for George.

These averages show low pollen and mould concentrations.

Trees included mesquite, pecan, cypress and yellowwood, while the weeds included spurges and goosefoot.

Potchefstroom

Potchefstroom recorded high tree pollen counts, with mulberry the dominant tree at the monitoring site.

Other trees included birch, hackberry, bushwillow, cypress, ash, pine, plane, oak, karee and willow.

Weed pollen and mould levels remained low.

Kimberley

The latest report does not provide current pollen readings for Kimberley because the pollen readers were away.

Instead, it uses six-year average counts. These historical figures show that tree pollen tends to remain low in the semi-arid region at this time of year.

Trees that may occur include mulberry, pine, oak, karee, hackberry and sumac.

Where do you live, and what are pollen levels like in your area?