Britons who suffer with hay fever are being warned of very high pollen levels across all of England, Wales and parts of Scotland this week.
According to the Met Office, the majority of Britain will be hit with the "pollen bomb" with many areas seeing hay fever warnings especially this Saturday.
Birch trees releasing near-record amounts of pollen are the cause of the suffering and according to the Kleenex pollen forecasting service there has been a significant surge in the number of people checking the service since March 15.
However, following the "pollen bomb" forecaster suggest that spring showers will "dampen down" the pollen count into next week.
Following the "pollen bomb" forecaster suggest that spring showers will 'dampen down' the pollen count into next week
WXCHARTS
According to the Met Office weather data, only Northern Ireland, Highlands & Eilean Siar and Grampian will experience moderate pollen count today.
While the pollen count in Orkney & Shetland is predicted to remain low for the entire week.
Areas including South West England, South East England, East of England, East and West Midlands, North East of England, North West of England, Yorkshire and Central and southern Scotland will experience a high pollen count today.
From Friday, the tree pollen count, which includes pollen from birch, plane, willow, ash and oak, will reach the highest rating available from the Met Office.
Much of England is set to be see "very high levels" of pollen on Saturday.
Next week, levels will reduce following sporadic rain showers - providing some relief to those suffering.
British Weather Service Senior Meteorologist, Jim Dale said: “Along with rain it dampens it down. Every cloud has a silver lining.”
Although the current emphasis is on tree pollen, which only affects a small number of people, it can still cause severe symptoms of hay fever for those who are allergic.
Much of England is set to be see "very high levels" of pollen on Saturday
PA
“We’re constantly monitoring what’s in the atmosphere and what might be coming, in terms of pollen in the air," Yolanda Clewlow, the Met Office’s Relationships Manager for Health & Air Quality, and the UK Pollen Forecast Manager told the Weather Snap podcast.
“We look at a very broad picture for the pollen outlook, including the weather in the previous year when pollen is formed on some plants to make a judgement on how bad a season might be for pollen release.”
"Tree pollen is the main factor in the forecast at the moment, and this week, with more settled conditions, we’re expecting a large amount of birch pollen in the air, but these different types of tree pollen in the air will shift as we head towards summer.”
