The pollens are back. And almost the whole of France is affected by the rise of pollen, especially grasses, a real nightmare for people with allergies. 90 departments were indeed placed on red alert this Friday, May 26 by the National Aerobolic Surveillance Network (RNSA). On the map, the few departments which are not in red – namely mainly in the West including Finistère, Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine, Mayenne, Orne and Sarthe – are all the same colored yellow.
“Grass pollen is increasing in power from the south to the north of the country and will affect all departments of France this week with a high level risk of allergy”, writes the RNSA in its updated note on Monday. The guilty ? Weather. If the numerous showers of this beginning of May “could bring a little respite to the allergic people by plating the pollens on the ground”, they however “favored the growth and the development of the grasses”, explains the RNSA. The warming mercury and the return of the sun will thus “promote the emission and dispersion of high concentrations of grass pollen in the air”.
In France, nearly 25% of people suffer from respiratory allergies, according to the RNSA. The first source is obviously pollen and, among them, grasses are among the most allergenic pollens. To hope for a respite, allergy sufferers will have to count on the rare stormy showers that will cross France.
