Many allergy sufferers may have noticed increased symptoms this year compared to last year. It turns out that it was caused by higher-than-normal pollen levels in the air in some parts of Canada.

A particularly strong pollen explosion occurred in southern Ontario and Quebec. There was a thin layer of yellow pollen that covered most of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. We could see an unusually large amount of pollen on our cars, perhaps the largest since many years.

The weather outside has a lot to do with the amount of pollen in the air. Temperatures were low for most of April, before rising rapidly in May. Then everything quickly and suddenly began to come to life.

The pace of vegetation that took place was simply unbelievable. The buds on the tree made their way to full leaf in just about day 10. Spring greening happened suddenly and very quickly, and that was what caused all the pollen we saw in May to be produced.

Apart from the noticeable thin layer of yellow pollen, allergy sufferers felt this time of quick pollen increase very much. Watering and itchy eyes, runny noses, itchy throats and sneezing are common symptoms that occurred in May. Many allergy sufferers felt these symptoms more intensely than usual at this time of the year.

The Aerobiology Research Laboratories in Ottawa reported that in May in Montreal, pollen levels were around 29,000 grains per cubic meter, compared to about 16,000 grains per cubic meter as the average for the last five years. If we compare the amount of pollen only to last year, the contrast will be even more pronounced, then this level was only 6,000 pollen grains per cubic meter.

The Atlantic provinces also had higher pollen levels than usual at this time of the year but were not as high as in Ontario and Quebec.

For allergy sufferers, pollen was particularly noticeable and troublesome also due to higher temperatures and the lack of rainfall. Rain cleans the air and washes away pollen. The time just after the rain is ideal, for example, for allergy sufferers to go for a walk without worrying about runny nose, itchy eyes and sneezing.

People with allergies can check pollen levels on a given day online, for example by visiting The Weather Network at:
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/weather/ontario/toronto