LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Early allergy season has officially arrived in the Las Vegas valley.
Las Vegas local Jose Montalto tells Channel 13 that he recently started taking his allergy medicine.
"[I noticed] an itch in the back of the throat, sneezing, a little more than usual," he said. "[I] thought is this a cold or is that an allergy? And then, you realize a couple days later oh. Not a cold. It's allergies."
Asma Tahir, a Pollen Lab Supervisor at UNLV, told Channel 13 that she was concerned about early allergy season. Tahir, who is part of a program that collects air samples and sends data to the National Allergy Bureau, explained that this year's high pollen numbers were expected due to the cold temperatures in January.
"We were bracing ourselves for this day," Tahir told me.
She attributed the early bloom to the rainy weather in Las Vegas last year.
"People don't realize that trees, especially, store whatever happened from last year," Tahir said.
Tahir emphasized that Southern Nevada is currently a "red zone" for allergies, with mulberry trees being the main problem along with other trees like ash, pine, and sycamore.
Tahir advised people to monitor themselves and take proper precautions, such as keeping windows and doors closed, staying inside on windy days, and removing clothes worn outside.
"The people who are affected by it, it is really bad, so this information is important to them," Tahir explained.
