Dreaded birch pollen season begins with promise it will be bad if the weather remains warm

Newcomers often caught out by allergy that affects close to one in five Danes

The dreaded birch pollen season started today in Denmark with readings of 138 and 162 particles per cubic metre in Copenhagen and the Jutland town of Viborg.

The one-month season is expected to peak at the end of April, by which point the counts will have increased considerably.

On occasion they can reach as high as 1,000, or even 4,000 as was the case a decade ago – which is extremely high when you consider 50 is considered a bad day for most hay fevers.

Could be a bad one if it stays warm
However, despite the high opening day counts, Astma-Allergi Danmark would appear to believe the unusual weather of late – which saw April open with snow showers after a colder than usual March, but then suddenly get much warmer – will not lead to particularly high birch pollen counts this year.

“It’s hard to predict how this birch season will be,” chief pollen counter Karen Rasmussen told Astma-Allergi Danmark. “If the hot spring weather continues, as is suggested, we may be in for a bad season.”

Furthermore, Astma-Allergi Danmark suspects that yesterday’s counts might be the result of pollen from overseas birch trees entering Danish airspace thanks to a prevailing southerly wind.

New arrivals should beware
Birch pollen allergy often catches out new arrivals to the country, as the counts are particularly high and often affect people who had never previously suffered from any kind of hay fever.

If you are new to Denmark and have been suffering from flu-like conditions over the last two days, you are best advised to call or see your doctor and get medication – the Flixonase nasal spray is among the recommended treatments, as are antihistamine tablets or eye drops. It’s a question of finding the one that works best for you.

Before you dismiss the notion and insist you have spring flu (like last April!), remember that there are 1 million sufferers in Denmark, so your chances of being among them are just under 20 percent.




  • Gangs of Copenhagen

    Gangs of Copenhagen

    While Copenhagen is rated one of the safest cities in the world year after year, it is no stranger to organized crime, which often springs from highly professional syndicates operating from the shadows of the capital. These are the most important criminal groups active in the city

  • “The Danish underworld is now more tied to Scandinavia”

    “The Danish underworld is now more tied to Scandinavia”

    Carsten Norton is the author of several books about crime and gangs in Denmark, a journalist, and a crime specialist for Danish media such as TV 2 and Ekstra Bladet.

  • Right wing parties want nuclear power in Denmark

    Right wing parties want nuclear power in Denmark

    For 40 years, there has been a ban on nuclear power in Denmark. This may change after all right-wing parties in the Danish Parliament have expressed a desire to remove the ban.

  • Tunø: An island running out of time

    Tunø: An island running out of time

    The island of Tunø harbors a community of 74 adults and one child. There are no cars and only one connection to the rest of the world. Now, climate change threatens it

  • Cross-border moves on the rise in the Øresund region

    Cross-border moves on the rise in the Øresund region

    The number of relocations across the Øresund Region is rising. As highlighted by 2023 numbers, Sweden benefits from a growing interest, especially among younger generations.

  • In conversation with Conrad Molden: The man behind the mic

    In conversation with Conrad Molden: The man behind the mic

    He’s tickled our funny bone with countless wisecracks and clever wordplay, and in the process, made Denmark feel a little more personable to many expats. An international import himself, funny man Conrad Molden has successfully carved out a niche for himself on the Danish stand-up scene, but it’s taken a solid 13 years, much trial and error, and heaps of Danglish

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.