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Austria is facing a high pollen load as sunny weather and mild temperatures set in. Because many plants are producing large numbers of catkins this year, experts expect pollen concentrations to exceed last year’s levels. Allergy sufferers are preparing with medication and other remedies.
“This will be a strong season for hazel and alder,” predicted Maximilian Bastl, head of the Vienna Pollen Service. Both the common hazel (Corylus avellana) and the Turkish hazel (Corylus colurna) are currently in bloom. Among the alders, the black alder (Alnus glutinosa) has already reached full bloom. “It will continue to affect allergy sufferers in the coming weeks,” Bastl said.
Hazel and alder are the first early bloomers each year, typically reaching full bloom from February into March depending on the weather. Ash trees follow in March, and hornbeam blooms from late March into April or even May. Birch pollen also appears at the end of March and can cause symptoms well into May.
Plane trees, beech, and oak create a transitional pollen load from mid-April to mid-May, before grasses hit with full force from the second half of May. Grass pollen season lasts until mid-July, after which most allergy sufferers get a break—unless they react to plantain, fungal spores, nettles, or ragweed, which can extend symptoms into autumn.
This year’s pollen season is starting later than in the past five years due to a cold winter, during which early bloomers sometimes appeared as early as late January. “In that sense, this year is more normal again,” said the pollen expert from the ENT clinic at MedUni Vienna. Early bloomers are expected to have an especially strong year in 2026, with hazel, alder, and birch all predicted to produce heavy pollen loads.
Many allergy sufferers will struggle because alder, hazel, and birch are cross-reactive, meaning symptoms can intensify when exposure overlaps. This is known as the “priming effect”: once the immune system is irritated, subsequent contact feels stronger. Last year’s early-blooming pollen load was relatively weak, but this year the potential is high.
- Hector Pascua with reports from vienna.at/picture: pixabay.com
