Intense pollen season to begin in southwest B.C. this weekend, expert warns

Get your tissues and allergy medicines ready if you live in southwestern British Columbia, where an expert predicts an intense pollen season is on the way.

Cold weather had held the pollen count at bay until recently, but an Ontario-based lab that monitors airborne pollen levels with a network of 30 stations across Canada said its latest report shows Vancouver, Burnaby and Victoria will all experience a significant spike in pollen starting this weekend and in the weeks ahead. 

Daniel Coates, the director of Ottawa-based Aerobiology Research Laboratories, said he's confident in the forecast. 

Colder temperatures have delayed the start of pollen season in southwestern B.C., which can begin as soon as late January, Coates said. 

"Because it's getting warmer, we're going to see quite high levels of cedar this weekend, which is stereotypically the start of the pollen season."

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High levels of alder, hazel and elm

It's the warmth that triggers a "rapid increase" in airborne allergens.

Unlike other provinces, B.C. has several varieties of cedars, including Western red, yellow and Alaska yellow cedars, Coates said. 

Cedar pollen is going to be at "very high" levels starting this weekend and through to Monday. Then, in the next week or two, alder, hazel and elm will also be at high levels. 

Coates said alder, hazel and elm are quite allergenic pollen types that can cause symptoms like a stuffy nose, coughing or sneezing.

It's a late start for pollen season in B.C. this year, but as usual it's still earlier than the rest of the country, which typically doesn't see allergy troubles starting until mid- to late March.

Coates said his lab has been making pollen forecasts since 1992, measuring the number of grains per cubic metre of air.

He said the lab's data shows overall pollen levels in Canada have increased over the past 30 years, with a more prolonged pollen season due to climate change. 

"It's mainly because with warmer seasons, [there's] more pollen production."

Cecilia Sierra Heredia, a research associate at Simon Fraser University who researches the connection between allergies and climate, said factors such as climate change and pollution are affecting allergy sufferers around the world. 

"[There are] increasing warmer temperatures, so the plants are producing more pollen grains," said Sierra Heredia. "We have more air pollution that is also irritating and increasing the activities in our respiratory system and our immune system. So these two — air pollution and pollen grains — interact and create havoc with our whole body." 

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No cure for pollen allergies

There is no cure for pollen allergies. Coates said the best way to minimize the effects is to clean nasal passages with water, wear sunglasses outdoors to keep pollen out of eyes, and avoid letting dogs sleep in bed because they bring pollen in with them.

Although southwestern B.C. is about to get hit hard, Coates said it could be worse. 

"You guys are lucky over in British Columbia, and you don't get the worst pollen type, which is ragweed," said Coates.

He said that in addition to the usual symptoms, ragweed pollen causes headaches as well.