Spring is Three Weeks Away - YAY! - Are You Ready for the Pollen?

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It is almost time to pack away those winter warmers and pull out the sunhats but are you ready for the pollen that comes along with spring? The Real Pollen Count helps South Africans prepare.

South Africa (31 August 2023) – Spring is officially three weeks away and while many of us like to celebrate on the 1st of September, the real effects of the season will really start kicking in at the later stage of September. That means lots of pollen, which can lead to allergies.

Every year, we love to remind our readers, new and old, about a project being run in South Africa by various universities, tracking pollen. It is called “The Real Pollen Count”.

Internationally, pollen counts are reported daily alongside the weather but in South Africa, that data isn’t collected as regularly. The Real Pollen Count monitors the pollen each week and then supplies a report for the week, highlighting which pollens were most present in each area.

Pollen counting was the concept of the University of Cape Town Lung Institute Allergy and Immunology. Several universities and medical institutions around South Africa assist in doing the counts, including; CSIR Pretoria, Kimberly Gariep Mediclinic, Nelson Mandela University, North-West University, University of Pretoria, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Free State, University of Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town.

The website also offers a range of information for allergy sufferers and a list of South Africa’s most allergenic plants (the plants most likely spiking the pollen count).

Finding out about this website has been a big change in how South Africans manage allergies. You can subscribe to get a weekly email detailing the pollen counts in your city or check the website here.

Currently, the following cities are being monitored: