Met Office urges UK households to stockpile 1 item before Wednesday | Weather | News
The Met Office is urging households to stock up on an essential item before this Wednesday.
Weather experts have told hay fever sufferers it ‘might be time’ to stock up on antihistamines due to new red pollen warnings from July 9.
Grass and weed pollen, two major red flags for hay fever, will be high or very high starting Wednesday for the rest of this week, the forecaster says.
Even those in northern Scotland won’t be spared, with high alerts in Edinburgh rising from Wednesday to very high levels on Friday.
In the south, very high alerts will be in place in London and Exeter from Wednesday, while Leeds in West Yorkshire will see high alerts on Wednesday and very high alerts on Thursday and Friday. High alerts will be in place in Northern Ireland for three days.
The Met Office said: “Hay fever sufferers, it may be time to stock up on antihistamines.
“Grass and weed pollen levels are predicted to be high to very high this week.”
In its advice on hay fever, the Met Office says: “The type of pollen in the air will be different depending on the time of year. There are around 30 different types of pollen that cause hay fever and it is possible for you to be allergic to more than one type.
“Most people are allergic to grass pollen, which is common in late spring and early summer. Tree pollen is usually released in the spring and affects about 25% of people. Grass pollen can be released any time from early spring to late autumn.
“Hay fever symptoms usually appear when the pollen count, which is a measure of the number of pollen grains in a cubic meter of air, exceeds 50. Weather conditions affect how much pollen is released and spread around. On humid and windy days, pollen spreads easily, but on rainy days, pollen can be cleared from the air. On sunny days, pollen counts are highest in the early evening and you are most likely to have hay fever symptoms during this period.”
