The Anonymous Widower

Hay Fever in Switzerland

You’d expect the Swiss to be fairly professional about this and this web site is very much so.  The trouble is finding it was difficult as typing something like “pollen forecast switzerland” into Google, gets all sorts of crap paid for sites mainly from the United States.

The interesting fact, is the Swiss thinks a lot of their hay fever comes from an imported plant called ambrosia.  They are now attempting to eradicate it.

Originally from North America, ambrosia (ragweed) is a weed with two specific properties: an extremely high spread potential and highly allergenic pollen. Pollination begins in mid July and continues until the first autumn frosts.

In the last twenty years ambrosia has spread on a massive scale in Europe. In Switzerland it has now spread over vast swathes of land in the Geneva and Ticino regions. North of the Alps its presence is limited to specific areas, but without appropriate countermeasures there is an imminent risk of it invading the whole country.

To avoid this scenario, from July 2006 ambrosia has been declared by law a plant that must be disinfested / eradicated.

I wish them luck.

July 14, 2011 - Posted by AnonW | Health, Transport/Travel, World | Hay Fever, Switzerland, Weather