Allergy Sneezin'

Spring showers bring May flowers and allergies. Now that April is almost finished, we are gearing up for allergy season. Even in the cement garden, there's enough pollen floating around to make your eyes look stoned and your nose drip. April brings mostly tree pollen to the area through mid-May followed by grasses until mid-July and then weed pollen is more prevalent later in the season, August through October.

Pollen is tested locally at a testing station at Long Island College Hospital. A list of area testing stations and their current (and historical) readings are available from the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. For some reason though, the site doesn't have readings at the moment for the Brooklyn, NY station. Currently at our favorite weather sites, the levels are listed as "low" to "moderate" (though Gothamist has noticed an increase in SF - sneeze frequency). It looks like levels won't be too bad for the time being. Strangely, the New York Post reports conditions as "miserable" so it seems there is a variety of pollen forecasting going on.

While the AAAAI has specific training and certfication required to collect this data, it still seems to Gothamist, that putting a contraption on the roof for this type of measurement is prone to severe variation. Variations in pollen count occur due to certain weather conditions. Wind will blow around pollen alot more causing higher readings while humidity weighs down pollen grains lowering readings. Proximity to pollen producing vegetation will also affect readings (duh). We will still trust our nose and will try to overcome any rising pollen counts to enjoy the blooming season in Central Park and celebrate Earth Day.