Forecast

A change in the weather brings some relief!

At the start of the week, a cold front moving across the country from the west will bring a change in the weather, with lower temperatures, rain and thunderstorms. For those with pollen allergies, this may provide some short-term relief. From Wednesday, the sun will shine again across the whole country, which may lead to a rapid rise in pollen levels before the weather becomes slightly more unsettled again in the second half of the week. People who are sensitive to fungal spores in particular should expect significant levels of pollen after the rainfall; however, allergy sufferers who react to mugwort or ragweed should also expect symptoms this week.

The grass pollen season is now drawing to a close across the country and is generally causing only low levels of pollen in the ambient air. However, pollen from foxtail grasses and plantain can still be found in the air and may further exacerbate symptoms for allergy sufferers.

We are now in the middle of the herb pollen season. The first peak of the mugwort pollen season has already been reached; weather permitting, high concentrations are still expected as the week progresses.

As the wind is set to blow increasingly from the west over the coming days, only a low level of long-distance transport of ragweed pollen from eastern or south-eastern Europe is expected. As local ragweed populations are only just beginning to flower, moderate pollen levels are generally expected in eastern Austria and in those regions where ragweed is present, such as south-eastern Styria, Carinthia or the Inn Valley. In the immediate vicinity of populations that are already flowering, pollen levels may be higher.

If you spot ragweed populations whilst out and about, you can report the plant via the Ragweed Finder app or at ragweedfinder.at, thereby informing the relevant authorities in the federal states about the presence of this invasive plant.

In addition to the pollen types already mentioned, pollen from stinging nettles, hemp, carnations and cypresses is currently also present in the pollen spectrum. However, these pose only a very low allergenic risk.