The latest WeatherWatch.co.nz poll has been focused on allergies and, compared to previous years, the number of people badly affected doesn’t seem as high.

A drier than normal start to spring may have some role to play in this, as might the recent colder, wetter, weather. 

Pollen levels can often be at their highest when rainfall levels are normal and the weather is warm and windy in between – the driest days tend to then be perfect for pollen getting in the air and affecting us.

The recent poll shows around half of those who voted are being affected by pollen, with 6% saying they don’t normally get hayfever but have done so this year.

But at the time of writing this story the majority of voters at 51% say they haven’t been affected at all, or only “a little” by pollen so far this spring.