Culture

Melbourne Is Experiencing One Of Its Worst Ever Hay Fever Seasons And There Is No Relief

The worst thing is, we were actually warned.

by Sinead Stubbins  7 November 2016

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If it seems like there are more people sniffling in your office, itching their red eyes in your uni tutorials or snorting nasal spray on your train ride home, it’s because today we’re experiencing something of a hay fever apocalypse.

Melbourne is suffering and it appears that there is no relief.

According to the Melbourne Pollen Count and Forecast website, which is a joint project between the Asthma Foundation Victoria and the University of Melbourne, today’s pollen count has been marked as ‘EXTREME‘ with last Friday being the most extreme pollen day since 2013. While this might make you feel a little vindicated and encourage you to complain loudly about your symptoms even more, the worst thing about this is that Melbourne Pollen Count and Forecast actually warned us about this pollen armageddon (pollageddon?) way back in August.

Talking to ABC 774, Melbourne University botanist Associate Professor Ed Newbigin, said that he knew that this spring would be one of the worst ever seasons for hay fever sufferers due to an unusually wet winter, which had contributed to “huge amounts of pollen” being released from grasslands across western Victoria.

“When we get winds coming in from the north and northwest … they are bringing that grass pollen into the city,” Dr Newbigin said.

We should have started building a bunker in August, but we didn’t listen. Now we must wait for the wind to change, and for sweet relief to sweep across the state. Thankfully, the forecast for the rest of the week is ‘moderate’. In the meantime, please provide your antihistamine tips in the comments, thanks.