24°C in Paris, 21 in Strasbourg, 28 in Tarbes… In France, temperatures will rise in the coming days, reaching close to 30°C on Saturday March 6, according to Météo-France forecasts. And this heat wave is accompanied by the return of pollen allergies. This Tuesday, April 2, the national aerobiological monitoring network (RNSA) has placed a large part of France at the highest level of allergic risk.
Some 68 departments are thus classified in red, and only three territories present a “low” risk of allergies: Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne and Ariège. “Pollens are out at the beginning of April thanks to spring weather, in particular those from birch which will be responsible for a high risk of allergies in many departments north of a Bordeaux-Grenoble line,” indicates the RNSA on its site.
In the south-east, “the mixture of pollens from Cupressaceae (such as cypresses), oak, plane tree and parietaceae (urticaceae, such as nettles) will give a high risk of allergy in several departments”, also specifies the body . On the west facade, the risk is lower but the RNSA encourages vigilance: “We will find grass pollen there with a low to medium level allergy risk.”
A high concentration of pollen from the end of March to the end of April
More generally, throughout the territory, “ash and plane tree pollens are spreading with a low to medium level allergy risk for plane trees and a low to high level risk for ash trees”. Already, on March 20, the RNSA had warned of a high concentration of pollen “from the end of March to the end of April”. “During this period, episodes of air pollution may exacerbate the symptoms of allergy sufferers. Only rain and late frosts will give allergy sufferers a respite.”
They are therefore advised to adopt good reflexes to limit the risk of allergies. Among them, as indicated by the Ministry of Health on his website, limiting outdoor activities such as lawn mowing, sports or garden maintenance. Ventilating the rooms, favoring times before sunrise and after sunset, is also recommended, as is rinsing the hair after being exposed.