How last year's heat dome helped unleash the clouds of pollen now plaguing Western Canada
CBC
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If you're a seasonal allergy sufferer, you may have been reaching for the Reactine a little more than usual this year.
Pollen has appeared in clouds across much of Western Canada, piling up on cars, decks, driveways and even beaches.
"It's ridiculous. I haven't seen it like this in forever," says Saige Liimatainen, who is suffering intense allergy symptoms this year where she lives near Prince George, B.C.
"I'm sitting in my car right now and I'm looking at a nice layer of pollen on my mirror. And it's pretty bad. My allergies are pretty awful."
Pollen counts have been high across much of Western Canada, according to Daniel Coates, director of Aerobiology Research Laboratories in Ontario.
The Ottawa lab monitors pollen and spores across Canada to provide data and forecasting for a number of trees, including oak, birch, and pine.
"Right now, pine is actually increasing in Edmonton and it's been doing that for a little while," says Coates.
In Saskatchewan, both Saskatoon and Regina have experienced high rates of pollen this spring.
"For pine pollen this year in Saskatoon, it's similar to last year. We've had a couple of days close to 500 grains per cubic metre, which is very high," he says.
According to Coates, pine in Regina is worse than last year and has lasted from late May until now.
The root of this floating nuisance is coming from the branches of the coniferous trees. The flowering display on our trees is breathtaking — by many definitions, says Janice Cooke, a biological science professor at the University of Alberta.
"The spruce trees in our urban neighbourhoods are just loaded like Christmas trees with all of these cones," she says.
"Every so often we get a confluence of developmental circumstances and meteorological circumstances. Everything aligns and we get great flowering and we call that masting."
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.