Arizona Spring Allergies May Be Getting Worse

The Arizona Republic reports that the combination of winter rains, recent high winds and mild temperatures are affecting Arizonans with spring allergies. Doctors say that the spring months seem to be the worst for allergies in Arizona because the pollinating seasons for trees, grasses and weeds overlap. In most states, trees pollinate first, followed by grasses in early summer and weeds in late summer and fall. Arizona’s warm weather also means that allergy season starts early—in February—with most people having symptoms well into June. Mayo Clinic allergist John Lewis says he expects the peak to be in April when the olive trees bloom. Lewis says allergy seasons may be getting worse because evidence suggests that the amount of pollen in Arizona air has increased steadily since the 1940’s.

Pollen.com says that Globe-Miami’s pollen count has been between 10.3 and 11.3 for most of the past month. Anything above 9.6 is considered high. The Web site forcasts a count of 10.4 tomorrow (Tuesday), down to 9.5 on Thursday.