A duck swims through a thick layer of pollen sitting on top of the water at Andersons Bay Inlet, in Dunedin, yesterday.
An unusual amount of pollen has been reported in some parts of the city, leaving cars coated in a fine layer and causing hay fever sufferers to head for the medicine cabinet.
Pharmacists spoken to yesterday about the number of people seeking help with pollen allergies offered mixed views.
Some reported business as usual at the start of allergy season, while others noted a spike in customers seeking antihistamines.
Bayview Pharmacy pharmacist manager Tracey McLeod-Jones told the ODT there had been a noticeable increase, beyond normal levels, for this time of year.
It appeared hay fever season had started earlier than usual, with up to 20 people a day seeking medication from her store in recent weeks, including those who did not normally suffer symptoms, she said.
Unichem Pharmacy dispensary manager Shin Chan said he, too, had been seeing ''quite a lot'' of people with symptoms this week, although that was nothing unusual for this time of year.
However, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) climate scientist Gregor Mccara doubted the weather was to blame.
Dunedin had experienced only about half its normal rainfall in the last month, about 58%, while sunshine hours were up slightly and temperatures were slightly cooler.
The thick pollen slick on Andersons Bay Inlet could have been caused by a heavy downpour in the city on Thursday afternoon.
That had delivered about 10mm of rain to the city - the most in a month - and could have stripped pollen from trees before washing it down into stormwater drains leading to Andersons Bay Inlet, he said.
