Hay fever sufferers are set for a difficult week ahead, as a nationwide ‘pollen bomb’ is predicted across the UK due to this summer’s erratic weather.
The Met Office have warned that pollen levels are set to increase over the coming week, after the grass and weed seasons started earlier and stronger this year due to the warm weather experienced over the second May bank holiday weekend.
Hay fever is an allergic reaction to the fine powder that plants produce, called pollen, usually when it comes into contact with your mouth, nose, eyes and throat.
Symptoms include sneezing and coughing, a runny or blocked nose, itchy and red eyes and can cause headaches and fatigue.
In the last few days, visits to the NHS hay fever advice page have more than doubled, as millions struggle with cold-like symptoms despite the high temperatures.
The forecaster has warned that across England and Wales, grass pollen with dominate and maintain high levels, with regions such as Yorkshire, the Midlands and the northwest likely to see very high levels.
However, the highest pollen levels are expected across southern and eastern England, with the Met Office warning that in London and the south-east, high pollen levels are likely to remain elevated on Monday and throughout the week.
Wales has also seen a steady rise over the weekend, with only northern Scotland escaping the worst of it, with the Orkney and Shetland isles seeing a low pollen level.
While the forecaster said there was no data to support the claim that pollen is ‘worse’ this year, it may feel more severe for individuals to due a combination of high pollen counts and exposure to multiple pollen types.
Alastair Culham, a professor of botany at the University of Reading, said: “The combination of the fairly breezy and dry weather is going to bring a lot of pollen into the air this week and for the coming weeks.
“We’ve seen quite a mixed year so far, a very warm dry spring which brought pollen on early, and then we’ve had a series of wet weather which has allowed the grasses to grow exceptionally well.
“Now the weather has warmed and dried, those grasses are going into flower and the level of pollen from grass is phenomenally high.”
Recent warm conditions with light winds are ideal for pollen to be released and carried through the air, while a lack of rainfall means it isn’t being washed away. Recent spells of rainfall with sunshine in recent weeks have provided the ideal growing conditions for grass and weeds.
According to Allergy UK, one in four adults and one in eight children suffer from allergic rhinitis, the medical term for hay fever, and research shows the number of sufferers is rising each year.
A study released by Lancet Countdown in Europe 2026 found that hay fever sufferers now endure symptoms for up to two weeks longer than they would have done in the 1990s due to climate change.
The new report, published in The Lancet Public Health, says climate change is shifting the flowering season of plants that release allergenic pollen.
They examined changes in the timing and intensity of birch, alder and olive pollen season.
Researchers found an earlier season start of one to two weeks was detected for all allergenic trees between 2015 and 2024, compared with 1991 to 2000.
“Climate change has prolonged the pollen season by one to two weeks, increasing the duration of exposure for people with allergic rhinitis,” the authors said.
