Cutting down trees and moving workers to tropical island: countries take measures against hay fever | RTL News

In short: grasses and trees are the biggest dispersers of pollen and you can find them just about everywhere. In countries with a maritime climate like ours or a continental climate like many other places in Europe, you may sneeze when you get there. It is estimated that grass and tree pollen cause complaints in 20 percent of Dutch people. The chance that that percentage will increase further is quite high.

Spain: Trees on Barcelona’s La Rambla must be removed

The same applies to Spain, says our correspondent Richard Hogenkamp. “In 2020, about 15 to 20 percent of the population suffered from a pollen allergy. The most recent reports already mention 20 to 25 percent. And it is expected that half of Spaniards will have hay fever by 2050.”

This is largely due to the changing climate, a process that the Netherlands is also experiencing. Due to higher temperatures, trees and grasses no longer go into winter mode, but instead bloom for a much longer period. Due to the extended flowering period, pollen remains in the air for longer and an allergy can also develop more easily.

“In Spain there are people who suffer from hay fever complaints from November to April,” says Hogenkamp. “Most people suffer for a shorter period of time, depending on what exactly you are allergic to. The peak for most tree species is in March and April, but that of olive trees is in May and June.”

“It is precisely those olive trees that are one of the biggest culprits in Spain. Together with the cypress tree and the plane tree.” It is precisely the latter that Barcelona is full of. They also line the city’s most famous street, La Rambla, causing passersby to suffer from itchy eyes, runny noses and sneezing fits. That is why Barcelona is taking action. A total of 45,000 plane trees will be removed by 2027. They are replaced by trees that cause fewer allergic reactions.

Spanish doctors also give some advice: stay indoors during the worst hours of the day. These are from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. “If you have complaints in May and June, you are done with it, when Spaniards stay indoors in the afternoon during the hottest part of the day. Then you are indoors all day,” says Hogenkamp.

South Africa: Europeans bring hay fever trees with them

Hay fever is also an unpleasant phenomenon outside Europe. Such as in South Africa, where people also suffer from the cypress tree and the plane tree. And that’s actually because of the Europeans.

“The oak tree was brought to South Africa by the VOC, the British brought plane trees with them and cypresses grow from Southern Europe,” says correspondent Sophie van Leeuwen. “The European settlers needed wood to develop the Cape, to build houses, oak wine barrels, basically everything at that time.

But now South African hay fever patients are left with the pollen from all those trees. “And the number of hay fever patients is increasing,” says Van Leeuwen. The same applies to the amount of pollen floating through the air. The country invests a lot in measuring equipment to keep track of where and when pollen ‘strikes’.

Anyone who is currently in South Africa probably has little to no problems with pollen. The South African spring falls in September, October and November.

Japan: Employees work on tropical island

Finally, Japan, where the most striking measures against hay fever are being taken. And that is necessary, because many Japanese have a pollen allergy. This concerns 40 percent of the population, twice as much as in the Netherlands. Last year, the highest pollen concentrations ever measured were in the capital Tokyo. Reason for the Prime Minister to label hay fever as a ‘national disease’.

The cypress tree is also infamous in Japan. The Asian country planted them en masse after the Second World War. But they are now coming back from that. Over the next ten years, the number of cypress trees must be reduced by 20 percent and replaced by trees that are ‘hay fever-proof’.

And some companies are also taking action. For example, they send their employees to the tropical island of Okinawa. That is a true paradise with white beaches and many hours of sunshine. And it is a place where hardly any pollen floats through the air. They go there until most of the pollen in their original place of residence is gone and the journey is paid for by the employer.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, employees at one in five companies can work remotely during the pollen peak. The companies do this because many employees fall ill. The damage to the economy is estimated at 1.4 billion euros per day.

Where do you need to go?

If you want to move to an area with less pollen, then a dry, small island is indeed a good idea,” says Martijn Dorrestein of Buienradar. “Along the coast is always better anyway. The wind plays a role in this. When it comes from the sea, clean air is blown onto land. After all, no trees or grass grow at sea. You also see that in the Netherlands. With a westerly wind you usually see that the pollen concentrations in the coastal provinces are low.”

“Another solution, but less fun, is to look for an area where it rains. A rainforest is then an option. Very dry areas, such as a desert, are also possible. Dubai is a good alternative, provided you can tolerate the heat. And high In the mountains, above the tree line, I suspect that you also suffer less from hay fever,” says Dorrestein.