Ragweed Pollen Season Begins: 19 Grains Per Cubic Meter
The Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed ragweed season has started. The ambrozija.rs portal is already measuring 19 pollen grains per cubic meter, with the peak due by late September.
Is ragweed pollen already in the air? It is, and has been since last week. The Environmental Protection Agency has officially confirmed the appearance of ragweed pollen grains, and measurements from Sunday, August 9, at the Zeleno Brdo, Novi Beograd and Cukarica stations showed a low presence of the plant in the air.
Low presence is not the same as safe. The specialized domestic portal ambrozija.rs, which tracks a five day forecast of allergen concentration for the Belgrade area, recorded 19 grains per cubic meter of air.
The Agency’s statement reads as follows:
We are announcing the start of ragweed pollen grains appearing in the air. Over the coming weeks a gradual rise in the concentration of this plant’s pollen is expected, since it ranks among the most significant causes of seasonal allergic reactions. Currently, more than 50 percent of allergies originate from weeds, a group that includes ragweed.
So these are only the first weeks of the season. Concentration is expected to climb as the plant develops further and weather conditions turn more favorable, with the flowering peak arriving by the end of September.
Why 19 grains is enough to knock you down
Because ragweed works with small numbers. A single ragweed pollen grain carries around 50 allergenic proteins, so even readings that monitoring stations classify as low can trigger a reaction in sensitive people.
Symptoms span a wide range. On the milder end are sneezing, a runny nose, watery eyes and itching. On the more severe end are difficulty breathing and chest pain, conditions that can ruin both a person’s workday and their night.
“Ragweed pollen, which draws the most public attention because of its strong allergenic potential, is for now being recorded at lower concentrations. Even so, such values can be enough to trigger allergic reactions in particularly sensitive people,” said Ana Ljubicic of the Environmental Protection Agency.
What is dominating the air right now
Ragweed is not yet the main culprit. In recent weeks the air has been dominated by pollen from weeds, nettle above all, while grass pollen is running lower than would normally be expected for August. The reason is the exceptionally high temperatures.
That also explains people who had symptoms this summer and assumed ragweed had started early. It had not. It was nettle.
Five steps that cut your pollen dose
These are the Agency’s recommendations, in the order you’d apply them through the day:
- Wear a protective mask, sunglasses and a hat outdoors, especially during hours when concentrations run higher.
- Change clothes and wash them as soon as you get home. Pollen travels on fabric and stays in the apartment until evening.
- Rinse your nose with saline solution to clear particles from the mucous membrane.
- Use an air purifier indoors, both at home and at work.
- Check the readings before heading out. Concentrations are published on the Agency’s website and in the “Polen Srbija” app for Android.
If symptoms turn severe, the Agency advises seeing a doctor, an allergist if needed, rather than ignoring the discomfort. Household measures reduce exposure, but a doctor prescribes the treatment.
Why the weeds aren’t being mowed down now
Because it’s too late. The favorable month for destroying ragweed is June, before the plant has flowered. Mowing it during full bloom mostly scatters the pollen instead of stopping it.
The city knows where the problem sits. The largest ragweed breeding grounds in Belgrade are the fields on the city’s outskirts, the banks of the Sava and Danube rivers, and abandoned construction and agricultural land. The Belgrade City Assembly adopted a Ragweed Control Action Plan in 2019, covering the period through 2029, drafted by a team from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Belgrade in cooperation with the city’s Secretariat of Health.
Our recommendation for the coming six weeks is simple. Check the morning reading, plan walks and workouts for the lower value days, and keep tissues in your bag. The season has started quietly, but 19 grains per cubic meter will not stay where it is through the end of September.
