The first pollen monitoring station was installed in 1992 in Hungary. Recently, the Hungarian Aerobiological Network consists of 21 stations operating with volumetric spore traps of the Hirst design and the network is coordinated by the National Public Health Center (NPHC). Based on the measured pollen concentration data and the pollen forecast, comprehensive pollen information is provided to allergic people and doctors through different communication channels by the NPHC.
In Hungary, the pollen season can be divided into three parts: the season of trees, grass and weeds. The peak season of trees usually starts at beginning of February and ends in May. Hazelnut and alder pollen grains are the main allergens at the beginning of the season. Due to global warming, pollination tends to start earlier, e.g., considerable amount of hazelnut pollen grains were trapped at the end of December in the past two years. A high diversity of tree pollen is found in the air in April-May with the highest levels obtained for birch pollen. Pollen grains are carried by the wind from the Mediterranean regions, like olive pollen in the mid-spring. The end of this season is characterized by the pollination of plane, mulberry trees and pines. Cotton-like airborne seeds of poplar indicate the end of this season, and the coming of the grass season. The season of grass starts in mid-April and ends at the end of July. The season of weeds starts in early June and ends in mid-October, and dominated mainly by ragweed pollen. Other herbaceous plants such as nettle or mugwort and Alternaria can also trigger allergic symptoms in this season.
The short-term pollen forecast is calculated for the next two days. The forecast contains a total of 25 allergenic pollen types (including ragweed, grasses, birch, alder, hazel, cypress, poplar, elm, maple, willow, hornbeam, sycamore, oak, walnut, beech, mulberry, pine, nettle, plane, horse chestnut, linden, hemp, goosefoot/amaranth, and mugwort) and one fungal spore type (Alternaria). The pollen forecast includes a short description for each allergen as well as an image in also shown which helps the allergic people to recognize the allergenic plants.
Thunderstorm asthma alert is also provided during this period; however, some other trees and early summer weeds can also cause allergy symptoms. The pollen forecast is available on the website of the NPHC (in Hungarian).