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Why is the pollen so bad in Sacramento?

Sacramento weather lends itself to high pollen counts along with bad air quality

Are you having a horrible time with your allergies? Well, first off it's springtime and the pollen is literally everywhere. Normally, rainfall would wash away the pollen in the air and bring some relief. Well, we're moving out of the rainy season and into the dry season. So, rainfall will become increasingly hard to come by. The takeaway, no major relief in sight. 

WHEN DOES THE ALLERGY SEASON START?

Tree pollen starts in early March. Grass pollen begins in May. Weed pollen tends to arrive mid-summer in July. If you suffer from ragweed, so watch out for late August. 

Credit: ABC 10

THE WORST TIMES OF THE DAY

Do you begin sneezing first thing in the morning? That's because pollen counts are typically highest in the morning.  

HOW THE LOCAL WEATHER AFFECTS THE POLLEN

We live in an area that's known for mostly sunny skies. Unfortunately, all that sunshine reinforced by high pressure, traps the pollen, smoke and pollutants, like ozone, at the surface.   

As we move towards summer, the stretch of days with continuous sunshine and warm temperatures only exacerbates the problem and wrecks our air quality.

SPARE THE AIR SEASON HAS BEGUN 

Speaking of ozone, today marks the first day of the annual Spare The Air season. According to sparetheair.com, "ground-level ozone (also known as smog) is a big air pollution problem in the region and most of it is caused by mobile sources."

A Spare The Air alert in the Sacramento region will be issued when the AQI for ground-level ozone pollution is forecast to reach 126 or above.

Credit: ABC 10

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

  • Limit your time outside.
  • Don't drive with the car windows down. 
  • Wipe down your pets when they come in from outside. 
  • Close the windows at home and crank on the AC.

If that still doesn't bring significant relief from your allergies, you might want to see an allergist.  

 

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