Pollenservice Wien

Currently there is a poplar cotton wool on the move, which can be found as white flakes in the air or on the ground. Poplar cotton wool is the seed hairs and seed threads of the poplar tree and is completely harmless. These flakes are not pollen and do not contain allergenic proteins, hence they are hypoallergenic. Poplar seed hairs and seed threads can even filter pollen from allergenic plants from the air. Poplar pollen is usually found in the air from February to early April and is no longer responsible for allergic reactions at this time of year. However, the poplar seed hairs and seed threads usually occur together with the birch or the grass pollen season and the symptoms are therefore often incorrectly attributed to the white flakes.

Photo: Flowering false oat grass (left) and flowering manna ash (right)

Mid- and long-term forecast for Vienna
This forecast gives you an overview for a longer time period so that you can improve your planning.

The grasses are starting to flower in Vienna!

The grass pollen season in Vienna is beginning across the board. You can still find flowering specimens of meadow foxtail grass on near-natural meadows in the Vienna countryside. In the city itself, Kentucky bluegrass, orchard grass and false oat grass are beginning to flower. The nice weather over the next few days will encourage the start of flowering.

The birch is finally coming to an end in Vienna. Pollen concentrations are in sharp decline. Hornbeam and hop hornbeam are also hardly producing any pollen.

Oak and beech, which can be cross-reactive to birch, are at the end of their main flowering period, but are still releasing pollen.
Pollen allergy sufferers who are sensitized to birch pollen should still expect symptoms due to cross-reactions.

The manna ash tree planted in Vienna has started to flower. Ash pollen allergy is therefore still an issue.

Conifers are also beginning to flower in Vienna; fir, spruce and pine can release large quantities of pollen, which appears as a yellowish precipitate, known as sulphur rain, on outdoor surfaces. From an allergological point of view, however, this sulphur rain is harmless.

Over the next few days, it will be dry, spring-like and very sunny with temperatures above 20°C. These conditions stimulate the pollen release. The flowering of grasses begins across the board. Pollen concentrations are currently low, but are on the rise and will reach moderate levels by the end of the week. The flowering of the birch family (birch, hornbeam and hop hornbeam) is coming to an end and can only cause sporadic pollination. The flowering of the manna ash is in full swing and the pollination is also on the rise. Oak pollen concentrations are declining and plane tree pollen concentrations are hardly detectable.

Pollination profile

Grasses:
State of the flower: start of the flower/pollination
trend: increasing
time of the start of the flower: earlier than average

Birch:
state of the flower: end of the flower/ pollination
trend: decreasing
time of the start of the flower: average

Manna-Ash:
state of the flower: start of the flower/pollination
trend: constant

You can find the typical pollen seasons in our pollen calendar.

Tip of the season: It is advisable to wear sunglasses and headgear when going for a walk outside. These mechanical barriers ensure that your eyes and hair come into less contact with pollen, thus minimizing direct physical contact with the allergen.

Pollen spectrum:
Pollen from cypress and yew, beech, mulberry, oilseed rape, the rose family, horse chestnut, sedges, walnut and willow is also detected at our monitoring station.

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The first birch trees reached its readiness to flower in Vienna in the week of March 24, 2025 and went into bloom shortly afterwards (Video ©Katharina Bastl (MedUni Vienna/Pollenservice Vienna)). Accordingly, pollen release takes place under favorable conditions.

Here you can see birch catkins that are already dusting in a macro video. Pollen is released into the air as yellowish dust when touched.