Extremely high pollen levels across parts of Europe during spring 2025, observed by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams), caused allergy symptoms even in individuals without known allergies. This phenomenon is linked to the climate crisis, which causes plants and trees to flower earlier, extending the pollen season. Air pollution and invasive species also contribute to increased sensitivity and new waves of allergies. Wildfires in the UK, Netherlands, eastern Russia, and Canada also affected air quality.
Europe’s extremely high pollen levels triggered allergies in some for first time, data shows
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️Extremely high pollen levels across parts of Europe during spring 2025, observed by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams), caused allergy symptoms even in individuals without known allergies. This phenomenon is linked to the climate crisis, which causes plants and trees to flower earlier, extending the pollen season. Air pollution and invasive species also contribute to increased sensitivity and new waves of allergies. Wildfires in the UK, Netherlands, eastern Russia, and Canada also affected air quality.
Trending- 1 Spring 2025: Cams observed seasonal rise in grass and olive pollen across southern Europe and extreme birch pollen in north-eastern regions.
- 2 May 2025: Finland experienced extreme daily means of birch pollen.
- 3 March-May 2025: Air quality across Europe affected by wildfires.
- 4 April 2025: UK fire emissions were second highest since 2003; Netherlands recorded unprecedented wildfire emissions.
- 5 Late May 2025: Plumes from major blazes in Canada observed over Europe.
- 6 2050 (projection): Proportion of Europeans suffering from airborne allergies expected to rise to half.
- Increased allergy symptoms, even in individuals without known allergies
- Expected rise to half of Europeans suffering from airborne allergies by 2050
- Increased sensitivity to allergens due to air pollution
What: Extremely high pollen levels in Europe, particularly grass, olive, and birch pollen, led to widespread allergy symptoms, even in people without prior allergies.
When: Spring 2025 (March to May), with specific mention of May for Finland. Projections extend to 2050.
Where: Parts of Europe, including southern Europe (grass, olive pollen), north-eastern regions (birch pollen), Finland, UK, Netherlands. Smoke plumes from eastern Russia (affecting China, Japan) and Canada (observed over Europe).
Why: The climate crisis is altering the production and distribution of pollen and spores, causing plants and trees to flower earlier and extending the pollen season. Air pollution can increase people’s sensitivity to allergens, and invasive species are spreading.
How: As winter frost thaws earlier and spring weather gets warmer, plants and trees flower earlier. Cams observed the seasonal rise and extreme levels of pollen. Wildfires also affected air quality.