Canberra pollen expert, ANU Professor Simon Haberle, says this year’s grass pollen season is the worst he has seen in the decade he’s spent monitoring local levels.

The man behind the Canberra Pollen Count and Forecast app and website, Professor Haberle has seen record daily grass pollen levels smashed, along with the numbers of days where grass pollen exceeds 100 grains per cubic metre – the metric by which an ‘extreme’ pollen day is determined.

The record daily pollen level has been broken twice this season, once on 29 October and then again on 7 November when the count exceeded 492 grass pollen greens per cubic metre – more than 2.5 times the previous record!

Ten extreme pollen days have been recorded, exceeding last season’s record of seven. The average over the last decade is two extreme days per season.

“This is something we haven’t really seen before in our records,” Professor Haberle told Canberra Daily.

After a slow start to the season, grass pollen counts have increased dramatically since the last week of October.

Late October through November typically marks the peak period of the broader grass pollen season, which begins in early October and runs through to the end of January.

“We’re still not even halfway through the peak of the grass season; I’m anticipating this will continue through November,” he said.

In August, the pollen expert predicted a rough season ahead due to above-average rainfall over winter, and it appears his forecast has come true beyond what he could have imagined.

“Winter rainfall is one of the key factors that drives a very productive spring season,” Professor Haberle said.

“Soil moisture levels are high, precipitation and then temperatures begin to rise in spring and with all of those factors coming together, you should have a very productive plant growth season.”

A palynologist, or expert in the field of pollen analysis, Professor Haberle’s primary area of research is using pollen to look at environmental change through time in archaeology and paleoecology.

He started Canberra Pollen approximately a decade ago as a way of broadening their research capacity at the ANU.

“We have wonderful laboratories and the best collection in the southern hemisphere of pollen grains from different species,” he said. “Hopefully, people benefit from this kind of research for their daily health and wellbeing.”

Professor Haberle regularly receives positive feedback on Twitter in response to the updates and information he shares, confirming wide appreciation for his work within the Canberra community.

“People do respond very positively, so it’s a good way to show that the research is having a positive impact.”

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