Are we expecting the worse hay fever season in 70 years? The truth about pollen level predictions

8 April 2020, 11:28 | Updated: 8 April 2020, 11:31

The truth about "the worst hay fever season for 70 years"

Easter weekend hay fever: Newspaper headlines claimed this weekend will see the worst hay fever conditions for 70 years - but the scientist quoted in those articles told LBC it simply isn't true.

Easter weekend will see the UK in lockdown at home but that won't be the only thing keeping people indoors as apparently the worst hay fever season in 70 years is forecast to hit Britain.

Dr Beverley Adams-Groom is the Chief Pollen Forecaster at the University of Worcester has been quoted as saying that during Easter weekend, "We expect to see tree pollen reaching a high level in the context of our records going back as far as 1951."

So, are we expecting high pollen level counts? And will Easter weekend be extra tough for hay fever sufferers?

Speaking to Nick Ferrari, Dr Beverley Adams-Groom said she was misquoted, stating "I didn't say that.The reality is we are experiencing a typical tree pollen season. We have some high levels, which is what we would expect at this time of year.

"But we are not expecting anything excessive."

So ignore the newspaper hyperbole, these are the facts about hay fever in the UK in 2020.

Hay fever season 2020 in the UK

Dr Adams-Groom said: "The tree pollen season started on 5th April, as predicted, and we are seeing high counts already from the birch trees.

"The oak pollen season will start towards the end of April and the grass pollen season, which is the most important, will start in mid-May this year and will start to peak in June.

"It's about 25-35% of the population - about 18 million people in the UK - who are affected by tree pollen."