A 'pollen bomb' is set to hit the UK this weekend, with hay fever sufferers urged to have allergy medicine ready. High pressure will bring warm sunshine across much of the country, with temperatures forecast to reach 22C in London on Saturday. Glasgow, Plymouth and Cardiff will see 21C, while Belfast reaches 20C.
The Met Office warns that pollen levels will increase over the five days leading up to Tuesday, reaching high alerts in southern England and Wales. On Saturday, Yorkshire and Humber, the East Midlands and East of England will move from medium to high alert. The North East will change from low to medium.
A Met Office spokesperson said: 'Pollen levels are increasing through the weekend, particularly in southern and central areas of England and Wales, and that’s because of these settled weather conditions. There’s nothing in the way of rain forecast to dampen any pollen levels down, so certainly a weekend and a week to have that medication ready for any hay fever sufferers.'
Alongside medication, keeping windows rolled down while driving, drying laundry indoors and avoiding pollen peaks can help alleviate symptoms. The Met Office advised: 'Pollen levels are generally higher in the morning as the pollen rises up in the warming air, and again high in the evening as that pollen cools and comes down to the surface where we’re breathing the air in, so being aware of those times of the day is important.'
Hay fever affects around one in five people in Britain, equating to 10 million people. Symptoms include sneezing, runny or blocked nose, itchy or watery eyes, and cough. Most sufferers are allergic to grass pollen, which peaks from mid-May to July. Tree pollen spikes from late March to mid-May, and weed pollen from late June to September.
