Debate over banning short-distance flights takes off, but the cons outweigh the pros
Light relief for hayfever sufferers: Low-pollen spring follows worst winter since 1994
21/03/2019
HAYFEVER sufferers will have an easy spring this year after the toughest winter in a quarter of a century, according to the Spanish Society for Allergies and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC).
Lack of rainfall in winter means pollen counts should be lower, providing respite for the estimated one in six residents in Spain who suffer hayfever.
Most of those with chronic allergic rhinitis, otherwise known as hayfever, who live in the centre and north of the country will feel some light relief over the coming months, although less so for those who live in Extremadura in the west and Andalucía in the south.
SEAIC’s Aerobiology Committee chairman Ángel Moral says pollen levels are expected to be low across the board – below 4,000 seeds per cubic metre – after a winter which was especially dry and caused flare-ups for Spain’s seven million sufferers, making it the worst in 25 years.
Residents in the provinces of Toledo and Madrid had an especially tough time of it, Moral said.
Pollen counts are considered ‘very low’ at under 2,000 seeds per cubic metre, ‘low’ at 2,000 to 4,000 per cubic metre, ‘moderate’ at 4,000 to 6,000 and ‘intense’ at over 6,000.
In the Canary Islands, levels are expected to hover between just 100 and 300, the lowest count being in the province of Las Palmas and the highest in that of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and at around 1,750 in Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarra and La Rioja, although reaching 2,450 in the province of Álava and 2,725 in that of Guipúzcoa, both in the Basque Country.
The Mediterranean coast – Catalunya, the Comunidad Valenciana and the Region of Murcia will sit at between 1,000 and 1,500, and Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid and Castilla y León will experience pollen levels of between 1,500 and 3,000, rising towards the west and reaching peaks of 3,800 in Ávila and 4,000 in Salamanca (Castilla y León).
Those living in the south-west of the mainland will not have such an easy time of it, with pollen levels starting at 4,700 seeds per cubic metre in Sevilla and rising to 6,000 in Cáceres and 7,000 in Badajoz, the latter two being in Extremadura.
But the south-east will see very low counts, averaging just 635 in Almería.
Related Topics
HAYFEVER sufferers will have an easy spring this year after the toughest winter in a quarter of a century, according to the Spanish Society for Allergies and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC).
Lack of rainfall in winter means pollen counts should be lower, providing respite for the estimated one in six residents in Spain who suffer hayfever.
Most of those with chronic allergic rhinitis, otherwise known as hayfever, who live in the centre and north of the country will feel some light relief over the coming months, although less so for those who live in Extremadura in the west and Andalucía in the south.
SEAIC’s Aerobiology Committee chairman Ángel Moral says pollen levels are expected to be low across the board – below 4,000 seeds per cubic metre – after a winter which was especially dry and caused flare-ups for Spain’s seven million sufferers, making it the worst in 25 years.
Residents in the provinces of Toledo and Madrid had an especially tough time of it, Moral said.
Pollen counts are considered ‘very low’ at under 2,000 seeds per cubic metre, ‘low’ at 2,000 to 4,000 per cubic metre, ‘moderate’ at 4,000 to 6,000 and ‘intense’ at over 6,000.
In the Canary Islands, levels are expected to hover between just 100 and 300, the lowest count being in the province of Las Palmas and the highest in that of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and at around 1,750 in Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarra and La Rioja, although reaching 2,450 in the province of Álava and 2,725 in that of Guipúzcoa, both in the Basque Country.
The Mediterranean coast – Catalunya, the Comunidad Valenciana and the Region of Murcia will sit at between 1,000 and 1,500, and Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid and Castilla y León will experience pollen levels of between 1,500 and 3,000, rising towards the west and reaching peaks of 3,800 in Ávila and 4,000 in Salamanca (Castilla y León).
Those living in the south-west of the mainland will not have such an easy time of it, with pollen levels starting at 4,700 seeds per cubic metre in Sevilla and rising to 6,000 in Cáceres and 7,000 in Badajoz, the latter two being in Extremadura.
But the south-east will see very low counts, averaging just 635 in Almería.
Related Topics
More News & Information
BATTERIES from mobile phones, laptops and even cars are among those that must be recyclable within the next four years in accordance with a new European Union regulation, as explained by Spain's minister for...
ELECTRICITY could become cheaper to use at more convenient hours in a hypothetical about-turn for household bills – and that's thanks to solar power.
YET again and for the 36th year running, Spain holds the record for the highest number of blue-flagged beaches in the world, with its east-coast region of the Comunidad Valenciana having more than any other.