Spring is here ! And for many, it goes hand in hand with runny nose, itchy eyes. Almost all French departments are now on red alert for pollen allergy. In Ile-de-France, Hauts-de-France, Corsica and the Grand Est, there is a network of volunteers: Pollin’air. Volunteers who observe flowers and trees around their homes and immediately issue a pollen alert, much faster than traditional sensors.
“As soon as I go out, I taste!”
At this time of year, Olivier always has a handkerchief in his pocket. He is allergic to grasses. “Right now it’s very complicated: as soon as I go out, I taste!” Confirms this Strasbourg resident. Like all people with allergies, he has “a scratchy nose, throat too, watery eyes”. Olivier takes antihistamines “every day”, but his treatment is even more effective if he starts it as soon as grass pollination begins, or even a little before. This is precisely where the Pollin’air network becomes useful.
Pétra lives in the Vosges, in the middle of nature, on the edge of a charming stream. She is one of 330 Pollin’air volunteers in the Grand Est. For three years, this gardening enthusiast has carefully observed the lush flora around her home, a small botanical booklet in her hand. “There, you see the fragrant blur,” she said, gently grasping a slender ear between her fingers. “It pollinates,” she confirms, pointing to small lighter particles at the tips of the leaves. “It’s the pollen that blows away with the wind,” she explains.
A real-time alert
A few minutes later, Pétra launched the alert on the Pollin’air Grand Est site, from his computer. “I select the plant that I have spotted, the network immediately knows where I am, I say that it is in the pollination phase and I confirm my observation”.
The information is then sent in real time to those who have registered on the site, whereas traditional sensors for measuring the level of pollen in the air generally transmit their results with a week lag. Enough to allow major allergies to start their treatment as soon as possible. And if you also like to observe the plants around your home, know that Pollin’air is always looking for new volunteers.