Forecast

Rain brings some relief, but on Saturday and Sunday it will be sunny and pollen counts will start to rise again!

In Styria, there will be heavy rain on Thursday and Friday. The rain will wash the pollen out of the air, bringing relief to those with pollen allergies. Over the weekend, the weather will improve and the sun will come out again. As a result, ragweed and mugwort pollen counts in eastern and southern Styria will pick up again, potentially reaching moderate levels. Following the rainfall, the production of fungal spores will also increase and remain at the moderate to high levels typical for this time of year.  

Ragweed releases its pollen mainly in the morning. The highly allergenic ragweed grows predominantly on railway embankments, rubbish tip sites and roadsides, and can also form dense stands in soya, pumpkin and sunflower fields. Even just a few pollen grains per cubic metre of inhaled air can trigger symptoms in sensitised individuals. In the coming days, the local pollen load is unlikely to be significantly increased by the long-distance transport of ragweed pollen, as there will be few easterly wind currents.

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.

The late-flowering mugwort species, such as annual mugwort and Katchatka mugwort, have begun to flower and may cause localised problems. Canadian goldenrod is also in flower. For allergy sufferers who are sensitised to mugwort or ragweed, Canadian goldenrod can trigger cross-reactions. Dense stands of this composite flower should be avoided by sensitised individuals.

Most grasses have already finished flowering in Styria. Reeds are flowering along still and flowing bodies of water. People with allergies who are sensitised to grasses should bear this in mind when out walking. Pollen from plantain, goosefoot and stinging nettle has also been detected in low concentrations at our monitoring stations.

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