It’s Asthma Week (1-7 September), and Asthma Australia is here to help Australians with asthma and hay fever through pollen season.

Grass pollen season brings a seasonal increase in asthma and hay fever. It also brings the chance of epidemic thunderstorm asthma.

As hay fever season looms, we’re being told to go easy on the humble London plane tree, which despite popular belief isn’t to blame for runny noses, itchy eyes and sneezing.

Allergy sufferers from Tokyo to London are struggling as pollen levels surge in cities, possibly due to a preference for male trees

There are many types of pollen and one of them is grass, which is causing the asthma problem. We count all the pollen but keep a separate count of the grass pollen as well.

Link to podcast of Associate Professor Ed Newbigin speaking with JOY 94.9 about "the start of the dreaded Melbourne Hayfever Season, ways to reduce the impact of pollen on our lives, and a new website that will make planning an outdoor venture more tolerable".

As the pollen counts begin, the experts say now is the time to protect yourself against sneezing, asthma and worse.

Victoria's world-leading forecasting system delivered its first epidemic thunderstorm asthma forecast for 2018 today, marking the start of Victoria's grass pollen season.

Allergy-prone Victorians will be able to keep tabs on the pollen count under a plan to prevent a repeat of the 2016 fatal thunderstorm asthma event.

Sneezing, runny nose, itchy throat, watery eyes – welcome to spring, and the arrival of peak hay fever season.