Those in charge of the Community of Madrid said: “These days have been particularly complex and they will certainly continue to be,” alarming all allergy sufferers in the region. But the event goes far beyond Madrid. And no, this is not your impression: allergies are out of control and there is an explanation, although it may not seem like it.

Not to mention the pollen if the weather is crazy. Plants are the biological equivalent of a survivor on a desert island. They can’t move and do great things on their own, they basically depend on the only glow they can use to succeed. When a full ship is nearby, waiting to fire it is key.

Or put in less figurative terms: pollination requires highly specific thermal thresholds and meteorological conditions. That’s why certain exceptions trigger the machine and spike pollen levels. This is what has happened in recent days: After several weeks of heavy rain, the rapid rise in temperatures has made Spain a bad place for allergy sufferers.

Grasses in the south, quercus in the north. These are the two elements with the widest reach on the peninsula. Whether we look at a map of the distribution of grasses or a map of the distribution of holm oaks, we can see that these two large groups practically cover the entire region. However, due to their particular dynamics, they often do not “break” at the same time.

Therefore, we can see that grass pollen concentrations begin to increase in the southwest and rise until the heatwave impacts the entire south of the peninsula. In the case of oak and holm oak, the process was practically the opposite, and in the last few days they have taken over most of the north. Only the Valencia region survived this strange “alliance”.

Oh and the olive tree. To all this we must add the olive tree. Unlike its predecessors, the olive tree has a rather uneven distribution. In fact, it is quite concentrated in the south of the peninsula. This is what has exploded in recent days, and indeed high pollen concentrations have also reached Teruel and parts of the Pyrenees.

How long will this take? For example, the grass season has just begun. Normally, there is pollen until June. Of course, it’s unclear how this heatwave will affect the usual dynamics. What is clear is that, as with diseases, plants will have to adapt to the new climate balance, and there will undoubtedly be consequences for anyone suffering from allergies.

Image Brittany Colette