Japan gets something to sneeze at as pollen levels set to hit 10-year-high
- Tokyo officials have already issued ‘common sense’ warnings to local residents and instructed those with allergies to wear masks, protective eyewear
- The government says warmer temperatures last summer, with little rain and more sunlight, are behind the expected elevated levels of pollen
The prediction is based on an annual survey conducted by the Ministry of the Environment every November and December, which revealed a record number of male cedar flowers across 12 prefectures.
The ministry is pinning the blame for the elevated levels of pollen on optimal weather conditions in Japan last summer, with higher average temperatures, little rain and more hours of sunlight between June and August.
On Wednesday, weather forecaster Weathernews confirmed that the pollen season had begun across Kyushu, the most southerly of Japan’s four main islands, as well as Shikoku, much of Honshu and seven prefectures in the Kanto region around Tokyo.
Cedar pollen levels will peak in Kyushu in the next week or so before inching north along the archipelago. The highest concentrations in the air in Tokyo are expected in the closing days of February and the first week of March.
As cedar pollen levels begin to tail off, pollen from hinoki, or Japanese cypress, will start to spread in Kyushu before gradually migrating north.
‘Common sense’ advice
Officials in Tokyo – where concentrations of pollen are expected to be as much as 2.7 times higher than last year’s figures – have already issued warnings to local residents and instructed anyone who suffers from kafunsho allergies to take precautions, such as wearing a mask and protective eyewear.