Allergies in overdrive as extreme weather drives higher pollen count

‘When you have especially warm springs, which we’re getting more and more of, that favors these really bad and long allergy seasons.’ Photograph: Clemens Bilan/EPA

First, he had the symptoms. Then he saw the yellow fog. A thin layer of gold-coloured dust coated the patio furniture, the patio, his children’s swing set – everything in the garden of Ubaka Ogbogu’s home in the Canadian city of Edmonton.

“The mist was everywhere. Even my kids – who are not typically observant about these things – remarked about this yellow everywhere,” he said.