Itchy eyes, a runny nose, a scratchy throat – according to the Robert Koch Institute, one in six Germans suffers from hay fever. But those affected can reduce their suffering: Using pollen count data, the allergy risk can be predicted for the respective day. This helps allergy sufferers plan their leisure activities and pack medication.
The important basis for most forecasts is data from the Pollen Information Service. These are then used directly by various providers or offset against other indicators and then clearly presented.
Which apps and websites offer pollen forecasts?
The pollen information service PID offers a free weekly forecast on its website in table and text form, which includes all types of pollen that regularly occur in the air. The German Weather Service, a federal agency based in Offenbach, distributes the pollen threat index on its website and, for a fee, in the Health Weather app (see calculation below). Pollen levels can be checked daily and two days in advance on the apps “Husteblume” from the Techniker Krankenkasse and “Pollen+” from the Medical University of Vienna. The forecast data comes from the German Weather Service and the pollen data from the PID. Other providers include the pharmaceutical company Hexal and the weather portals wetter.com and wetteronline.de. Hexal obtains its data from wetter.com. This does not name any sources for its data on its website. The forecasts from wetteronline.de are based on information from “many different sources,” as wetteronline.de writes. Data from the PID measuring stations are not used, which reduces the quality of the forecasts.
Who actually measures pollen counts?
In Germany, the German Pollen Information Service (PID) Foundation takes care of this. It is a non-profit foundation based in Berlin. It was founded in 1983 on the initiative of the Medical Association of German Allergologists, the German Weather Service and the pharmaceutical company Fisons Arzneimittel, now Sanofi Aventis. The PID receives no government support, but is financed primarily through the licensing of pollen data for scientific and commercial projects, sponsorship and donations.
How are pollen counts measured?
The PID uses measuring stations on house roofs for this purpose. “This ensures that the plants in the immediate vicinity do not have a disproportionate influence on the results of the measurements, but rather that the measured data is representative of a region or large city,” explains pollen analyst Matthias Werchan from PID. The pollen traps in each station suck in ten liters of air per minute. The pollen gets stuck on a sticky band inside the trap. For analysis, it is taken from the pollen trap, divided into day periods and examined by analysts under a light microscope. This makes it possible to determine when which type of pollen was present and in what concentration.
At which locations are there measuring stations?
There are around 35 pollen measuring stations for PID throughout Germany, which can be found on the roofs of research institutions, clinics or private individuals. Two of them are in Hesse. The measuring station in Fulda analyzes pollen all year round, in Marburg it analyzes pollen seasonally. “These measuring stations are representative of the region. “Nevertheless, there may be differences that could be uncovered by operating additional measuring points,” says Werchan from the PID. The more measuring stations there are in a region, the more reliable the forecasts become.
How do pollen forecasts work then?
The state-run German Weather Service (DWD) calculates a daily pollen threat index and a forecast for the next two days. Stress levels between “none” and “high” are mentioned there. These relate to the severity of allergy sufferers’ symptoms and depend on the concentration of pollen in the air. The DWD’s forecasts are based on its own weather forecasts, the pollen concentrations measured by the PID and observations of which plants are currently blooming. “The pollen count forecasts are more or less as reliable as weather forecasts, since the pollen count depends heavily on the weather,” says Werchan from the PID.
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However, pollen analyst Reinhard Wachter points out the problems with pollen levels on his website. It varies from person to person whether someone feels symptoms at light, medium or high levels of stress. This also depends on the form of the day and other circumstances such as staying in closed rooms. “In addition, the measured values usually collected are daily average values, so they say nothing about the peak values that usually occur during the day,” writes Wachter.
What can allergy sufferers do themselves?
Allergy sufferers can enter their daily symptoms and their whereabouts online in a pollen diary. In this way, the symptoms can be compared with the actual pollen load. Scientists from the PID and the Medical University of Vienna evaluate the entries.
If you want to plan for the long term, the pollen count calendar will help. This reflects the average periods at which the different types of pollen appear in the air. This helps doctors find out more quickly which pollen could be responsible for the allergy.
Hyposensitization relieves allergy symptoms in the long term in 70 percent of cases. It lasts three to five years and best begins around three to four months before the relevant pollen appears. “The pollen flight times of most tree species have, on average, shifted significantly forward. This is clearly visible in our decades-long series of measurements,” says Werchan.