Flowering birch trees cause early start to the allergy season in the Netherlands

Blooming birch trees ensure an early start to the hay fever season in the coming days, Nature Today wrote based on measurements from Wageningen University. The birch trees bloom earlier because it was much warmer than usual in February and the first half of March.

The average temperature in February was 8.2 degrees. In March, it is expected to be 9 degrees. The birches are ready to bloom with last week's mild weather, according to measurements. In general, flowering birches cause many hay fever complaints.

Tuesday, in particular, is likely to be unpleasant for people with hay fever, as this is when the most pollen is expected to be in the air. The pollen concentration in the air seems to be highest in the southern and eastern parts of the Netherlands.

50 years ago, trees began to bloom much later because spring was much less warm back then. The pollen season lasted from the end of March to mid-May, according to Nature Today.

However, an early spring can be a problem for people with hay fever, but also for insects. Biologist Arnold van Vliet from Wageningen University told ANP in December that early high temperatures are bad for insects. In December, the trees were already flowering due to the high temperatures.

"The insects are now in hibernation. They are tapping into the energy reserves they accumulated earlier. Although they are dormant, they suffer considerably from extremely high temperatures. At higher temperatures, the insects consume even more energy. "If they make it to the end of winter at all, they come out weakened. Last year was one of the worst years ever for butterflies. This is worrying; we need all hands on deck. Our entire ecosystem and much of our food depends on insects.”