Hay fever warning:

Allergy alert follows month of unseasonably warm weather that saw dormant flowers and trees in bloom

HAY fever sufferers are facing the prospect of itchy eyes and runny noses far earlier this year after the unseasonably mild weather caused a spike in pollen.

The Met Office usually begins its pollen count at the end of March, but the forecaster has noticed levels are already on the rise.

Species of flowers and trees that should still be dormant are already in bloom after temperatures soared past 68F (20C) for the first time ever in February.

“Due to the recent unseasonably mild temperatures and the dry weather, some species of pollen may already be in the atmosphere, so the pollen season may have started a little earlier,” said a spokesman for the Met Office.

Holly Shaw, a spokesman for Allergy UK, said: “We have had a very mild winter and that could lend itself to trees releasing pollen early. If people start to become symptomatic, they should start taking their medications early so they will be most effective when the pollen levels really peak.”

The problem is likely to be exacerbated by sand blowing in from the Sahara, which is causing the worst air pollution for a year.

Britain could also experience the phenomenon of “blood rain” today when the red dust mixes with rainfall to form orange or reddish drops.

Brian Gaze, the Weather Outlook forecaster, said: “Blood rain is expected today as Saharan dust stains windows and windscreens orange.”

Sophie Yeomans, the Met Office forecaster, added: “Dust from North Africa has reached as far north as Scotland. There is potential for dust on cars from today’s showers in England, Wales and Scotland.”

People with asthma or lung and heart problems, as well as the elderly, were advised to reduce exercise in severe pollution areas to minimise health risks, guidance from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said. “Widespread areas of moderate, locally high air pollution are forecast for much of the UK.

“There is the potential for Saharan dust. There is a mixture of locally generated and continental sources coupled with light winds.”

Simon Birkett, director of campaign group Clean Air in London, added: “It’s Britain’s worst air-pollution episode for a year – since the Beast from the East, Defra forecasts show.

“It’s a perfect storm of three factors – Saharan dust, pollution from the continent’s power stations, factories and farming fertilisers, and light winds meaning home-grown traffic pollution doesn’t disperse.”

Yesterday the Met Office said February was on course to be the warmest since records began in 1910.

The previous warmest February was in 1998, when the average maximum daily temperature was 49.64F (9.8C) but currently the average is 49.82F (9.9C), the Met Office said.

Forecaster Becky Mitchell said: “It was really quite cold at the start of the month – it’s pretty exceptional to have caught up with the 1998 one.”