Gatte nose, throat that stings, fogged eyes … Each year, it’s the same ritual: spring arrives, the buds explode, and the allergens too.
But an idea often comes up with the enrolled city dwellers: what if the mountain was the solution? A big bowl of air, far from the plain pollens… really?
Fewer pollens at altitude: myth or reality?
Good news for sensitive noses: beyond 1,500 meters, the concentration of pollens significantly fall. It’s not magical, it’s botany. Many very allergenic plants, such as birch or certain grasses, do not grow at high altitude. Result: allergic people can blow a little (literally).
According to estimates of The American National Institute for Molecular Biological Information (NCBI)at 2,000 meters above sea level, the concentration of pollens can be up to 10 times lower than that measured in the plain in the spring. But this natural respite varies depending on the plant species and weather conditions: a simple redoux can hatch everything in a few days
But it all depends on the moment and the place. In the mountains, the seasons are offset. Flowering starts there later than in plain, sometimes more than a month late. It is an asset if you try to flee an allergic peak from the end of March in town, for example. Going up at altitude in April, you can find winter … and therefore avoid the worst.
