CINCINNATI -- This isn't good news for allergy sufferers -- tree pollen has reached a new high for the year, according to the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency.
According to Christopher Harrison, monitoring coordinator for the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency, Tuesday morning's natural pollutant count was 1,683 for pollen -- very high -- and 1,157 for mold -- only moderate.
Harrison counts every tiny specimen every morning to measure the daily levels of naturally occurring airborne pollutants: pollens and molds.
Tuesday's pollen count is more than 1,000 grains per cubic meter higher than the 10-year average, data from the air quality agency shows.
Trees with the highest pollen count in Greater Cincinnati right now are oak, mulberry and sycamore, according to agency data. On Tuesday, no grass or ragweed pollen grains were found.
Harrison's advice for allergy sufferers in Greater Cincinnati: Stay indoors on spring mornings, if possible.
"Plants primarily release their pollen from 5 to 10 in the morning, so if you can avoid doing things outside -- jogging or something like that -- during those morning hours, that tends to be when pollen is being released," he said.
