Hay fever sufferers warned as dry weather brings high pollen levels

Forecasters are predicting that more settled conditions will bring a "high to very high" risk of pollen affecting much of the country from Thursday and into the weekend.

Dr Beverley Adams-Groom from Worcester University, the UK's chief pollen forecaster who advises the Met Office, said: "We're right in the season now, the grasses have been ready to emit their pollen properly and fully for a week or so now.

"This year we've seen a rather stumbling start to it, the rain has dampened down the grass and prevented it from emitting its

pollen."

Dr Adams-Groom said the main grass pollen season can affect up to 95 per cent of hay fever sufferers, adding that conditions were not out of the ordinary, adding: "From now on, certainly for the next three days, we've got high to very high risk for quite a lot of the country

"It's nothing exceptional, forget all this stuff about a pollen bomb, it's what we would normally expect to see."

Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the Met Office, said the pollen risk on Thursday was high in most of England and Wales and medium in Scotland.

This is expected to move to very high across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and high in southern Scotland by Saturday.

Mr Madge said: "When you get settled weather and dry conditions, that will allow pollen to become airborne and remain airborne with the obvious impact on sufferers."