Pollen Forecast Edinburgh — September 22, 2026

Today's Pollen Levels in Edinburgh

Today's Forecast Conditions

7-Day Pollen Forecast for Edinburgh

Pollen Season in Edinburgh

Edinburgh's cool maritime climate pushes the whole pollen calendar later than southern England, typically by a week or two. Alder and hazel stir in late winter, but the first serious tree pollen is birch, which rises through late April and peaks in May; the city is well wooded with birch in gardens, on Corstorphine Hill and in the Royal Botanic Garden at Inverleith, and warm still days after a cold spring can bunch the release into a short, sharp burst. Ash and oak follow, then grass takes over as the dominant allergen from late May, peaking through June and July. Open grassland is everywhere here: Holyrood Park and the slopes of Arthur's Seat, the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links, Inverleith Park, Blackford Hill and the Braid Hills all cut and dry in early summer. Beyond the bypass, arable Lothian farmland adds cereal pollen and, in East Lothian, oilseed rape in spring, which irritates many people without being a true allergen. Nettle and dock carry into August. Onshore easterlies and haar off the Firth of Forth often damp counts down sharply.

• On warm, dry June afternoons, take the low coastal route along the Forth at Cramond or Portobello rather than crossing Holyrood Park or the Meadows, where the sea breeze usually keeps counts lower.
• Watch for the days the council mows the Meadows, Bruntsfield Links and Inverleith Park in early summer, and give those areas a day or two afterwards.
• If a cold, late spring is followed by a sudden warm spell in May, expect birch to hit hard and all at once, so start your usual routine before symptoms appear and ask a pharmacist what suits you.