10 March 2023
Summary Grass pollen is increasing in some summer rainfall regions of South Africa. Increased grass levels were seen in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Kimberley. Tree and weed pollen levels are generally low. Moulds are increasing in response to higher humidity and cooler temperatures in some areas. Cape Town Tree and weed pollen concentrations were low at […]
13 January 2023
Summary High grass counts were recorded in Johannesburg, with moderate levels of trees and weeds at this site. Similarly, trees and weeds were moderate in Cape Town. Low pollen counts were recorded in Bloemfontein and Gqeberha, with no new data available in Calvinia, Pretoria, Kimberley and Potchefstroom. The fungal spore count in Durban was significant. […]
20 January 2023
Pollen trigger alerts during this sampling period: Grass pollen is increasing in some of the summer rainfall areas and was moderate in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Kimberley. Tree pollen was moderate in Bloemfontein. Weed pollen was moderate in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein. Significant trees were olive (Oleaceae) and elm (Ulmaceae) and significant weeds were plantain species […]
27 January 2023
Summary Many sites experienced high temperatures with no rain during this sampling period and pollen in the ambient air decreased. For the first time during this study, the adhesive on the strip melted at one site. A small peak is noted for the weed Cyperus (sedge) in Johannesburg and small numbers of maize (Zea mays) […]
3 February 2023
Summary Low pollen loads were found from all the sites in the South African Pollen Monitoring network (SAPNET) this week. Ragweed (Ambrosia spp.) was detected from the air of Durban, Pretoria and Kimberley in low numbers, indicating that the sources were distant, as ragweed pollen is small and light and can travel long distances. Moulds/fungal […]
9 February 2023
Summary The hot, dry weather conditions at most of the South African sampling sites resulted in very low pollen and mould or fungal spores in the atmosphere. The exceptions were cities where there was higher humidity, or some rain such as Durban, Kimberley and Pretoria. Cape Town Pollen and mould loads were light during this […]
17 February 2023
Summary Torrential rain occurred at many of these sites. In cities where rain was prolonged (Johannesburg) pollen and mould was washed from the air so low counts were seen. In warmer areas (Durban and Kimberley), despite heavy rain, moulds increased sharply. Average grass counts were low but some moderate grass count days were seen in […]
24 February 2023
Summary Loadshedding at all the sampling sites will have reduced these counts. Pollen was low in most sampling areas except for Potchefstroom, where weeds increased the mean count and Durban, where a significant tree count with a spike for mulberry occurred. When white mulberry trees pollinate large quantities of mulberry pollen are shot into the […]
3 March 2023
Summary Grass pollen increased to moderate levels in Pretoria, Kimberley and Potchefstroom. Most grass pollen was released in the cooler mornings in Kimberley as the maximum temperatures reached 40ºC, inhibiting pollen release. Tree pollen was moderate in Bloemfontein and ragweed was detected in Potchefstroom. Mould spores reached high concentrations in Durban. Cape Town Heavy rain […]
