TRENTO. Last year the production of pollen in the air had been of exceptional magnitude. This year is even worse: the plants are already producing pollen in January, a sign of an exceptionally hot and dry winter season.
The Edmund Mach Foundation – which deals with the report in Trentino – signals the early start of a new pollen season and resumes the publication of the weekly bulletin which, until October, will describe the trend of pollen, providing useful information to the sensitive population for the management of the risk of exposure to allergenic pollen.
Following the mild temperatures at the beginning of the year, the aerobiological monitoring station detects, about a month earlier than the average of previous years, pollen from hazel, alder and cypress: these are the plants that bloom first in Trentino and that, due to the structure of their flowers, release large quantities of allergenic pollen into the air.
Hazelnut shrubs are widespread in Trentino up to 1700 m asl, especially in the undergrowth of broad-leaved and coniferous forests, but also as cultivated plants.
The alders, on the other hand, are shrubs or trees that prefer humid environments, such as the banks of rivers, and the first species to flower are the black and white alders (Alnus glutinosa and A. incana).
Cypresses, evergreen trees, are often used for ornamental purposes and are particularly present in the southern part of the province, where the mild climate favors their growth; among these, the Arizona cypress (C. arizonica), with its silver foliage, is the first species to flower, and is responsible for the cypress pollen released into the air at the beginning of the season.
The bulletin can be consulted on the pollini.fmach.it website and at the Trentino pharmacies, on the FEM social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), by e-mail by subscribing to the Pollen Bulletin newsletter, by SMS by sending qpol to 3351019034, by calling the telephone answering machine of Meteotrentino 0461 238939.