Pakistan Pollen Calendar: Islamabad Paper Mulberry to Karachi
Every March, Islamabad sneezes. The paper mulberry trees planted across the capital decades ago for quick shade release clouds of pollen so thick it settles as a yellow film on parked cars, and hospitals set up spring allergy counters for the weeks it lasts. Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar have their own seasons, and none of them run on the Western spring-hay-fever calendar. This Season Shift guide is a Pakistan pollen calendar (mausami allergy ka waqt): what’s in the air in which city and when, how to tell pollen from a cold, the saline and bedroom fixes that work, and the point at which itchy eyes become a doctor’s problem.
The calendar, city by city
Pollen counts move with rain, wind and temperature, so no calendar is exact, and a wet week can wipe out a fortnight of misery. The pattern below is the usual shape of the year, and it’s enough to plan around.
| City | Peak weeks | Main sources | Second season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Islamabad and Rawalpindi | Late February to early April | Paper mulberry (the big one), pine, chir, eucalyptus, grasses | Grasses and weeds, August to October |
| Peshawar and the Frontier plains | March to April | Paper mulberry, mulberry, poplar, grasses | Weeds in autumn |
| Lahore and central Punjab | March to April, and again August to October | Spring trees and grasses; autumn weeds including parthenium and the wild bhang that lines the roads | Smog stacks on top in November |
| Karachi and the coast | February to April, lighter | Kikar and devi (prosopis), grasses, plus year-round dust and mould from the humidity | A second, milder bloom after the monsoon |
Two things the table can’t show. Wind direction matters: a day with a westerly off the Margalla foothills is a bad day in Islamabad’s F sectors even when the count “should” be falling. And a dust storm mid-season carries pollen with it, so an andhi in March is a double hit; our dust storm guide covers the rinse-out routine for that.
Cold or allergy? Five clues
A season-change cold and a pollen allergy look alike for the first two days, and get treated alike for weeks, which is why so many people take antibiotics for hay fever every spring. The differences are consistent.
- Itch. Allergy itches: eyes, the roof of the mouth, the inside of the nose, sometimes the ears. Colds don’t itch, they ache.
- Discharge. Allergy gives clear, watery, running-tap discharge that stays clear for weeks. A cold’s discharge thickens and often yellows by day 3 or 4, then clears as it ends.
- Sneezing pattern. Allergy sneezes come in bursts of 5 to 10, worst on waking and on stepping outside. A cold sneezes now and then.
- Fever and duration. A cold may bring a mild fever and is over in 7 to 10 days. Allergy brings no fever and runs as long as the pollen does, 3 to 6 weeks, then stops as if a switch was flipped.
- The calendar. Same symptoms, same month, every year, and better indoors with the windows shut. That’s pollen. If it also arrives every time the weather turns and comes with a sore throat, read our season-change cold plan instead.
The short version
- Itchy, clear, no fever, weeks long: pollen.
- Achy, thickening, mild fever, over in 10 days: a cold.
- Either, plus wheeze or chest tightness: a doctor, this week.
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Rinsing the pollen off, not just blowing it out
Pollen is a physical thing. It lands on hair, eyelashes, skin, clothes and the inside of the nose, and it keeps irritating for as long as it’s there. The single most effective home measure is not a tablet; it’s washing it off.
- Saline rinse, twice a day in season. A quarter teaspoon of non-iodised salt in 250 ml of boiled-and-cooled water, used with a squeeze bottle or neti pot over the basin, morning and on coming home. Never tap water straight from the tap; boil it first and cool it. The full method and safety notes are in our saline rinse guide.
- Eyes. Cool water splashed over closed eyes, 30 seconds, then a clean cold compress for 5 minutes for the itch. Don’t rub; rubbing grinds pollen into the lid and makes the swelling worse. Preservative-free lubricating drops from a pharmacy help flush.
- Hair and face. Wash the face on coming home. In peak weeks, wash or at least thoroughly rinse the hair every evening, because a head full of pollen on the pillow means 8 hours of breathing it.
- Clothes. Outdoor clothes off at the door, not in the bedroom. Don’t dry washing outside in peak weeks; the pollen lands on the wet cotton and comes indoors with it.
- Mask and glasses. A fitted mask (a KN95 or N95, or a snug surgical mask with the nose wire pinched) on morning commutes and wraparound sunglasses cut the load noticeably. Morning is worst; most trees release pollen from dawn to mid-morning.
The car-bonnet check
Before you decide whether to open the windows, look at a parked car. A dusty yellow-green film on the bonnet and windscreen in March means the count is high today; keep the windows shut until evening and put the mask on. It’s a free pollen meter that’s more local than any app.
The bedroom, where the damage is done
You spend a third of the season in one room, and it’s the room that quietly collects the most pollen. Keep the bedroom windows shut from dawn to about 10am, which is when release peaks, and open them for airing in the late evening if you need to. Wet-mop or wet-wipe surfaces every 2 or 3 days instead of dry dusting, which just lifts it. Change pillowcases twice a week in season and wash bedding weekly in hot water. If a fan blows all night, wipe the blades weekly; they’re a pollen and dust spreader. Pets that go outdoors sleep outside the bedroom for the season. A HEPA air purifier is a genuine help in a sealed bedroom if the budget allows, and the same unit does double duty in smog season.
The spring instruction in Ayurvedic ritucharya is to lighten everything and to wash more, which lines up neatly with modern pollen advice even though the reasoning was different. Unani households used plain steam for a blocked nose, cold gulab jal compresses for itchy eyes, and a spoon of honey in warm water for the throat. The compresses and the washing hold up. Honey doesn’t train the body out of a pollen allergy, whatever the reel says, and never goes to a baby under 1.
When the pharmacy, and then the doctor, come in
For an adult with the classic itchy-clear-sneezy picture, a non-drowsy antihistamine (cetirizine, loratadine or fexofenadine) bought over the counter and taken at the pack dose, taken daily through the season rather than only on bad days, is a reasonable first step. Older sedating antihistamines (the ones that knock you out) are a poor choice for driving, exams and the elderly. Steroid nasal sprays are the most effective single treatment for a blocked, itchy nose and are safe for long-term use when prescribed, but they’re a doctor’s call, take a week to work fully, and must not be confused with decongestant sprays, which give fast relief and cause rebound blockage if used beyond 5 days.
See a doctor this week if: you wheeze, cough at night or feel chest tightness in pollen season (that’s the airway, not just the nose, and may need an inhaler); antihistamines aren’t holding it; sinus pain and thick discharge last more than 10 days; you’re pregnant or breastfeeding and need something (some antihistamines are suitable, some aren’t); a child under 6 needs treatment; or you’d like to know exactly what you react to, which skin-prick or blood tests can tell you. Immunotherapy (allergy shots or tablets) exists for people whose springs are ruined every year, and it’s the one treatment that changes the allergy rather than the symptoms.
Breathlessness, wheeze, chest tightness, or a cough that wakes you in pollen season is asthma until proven otherwise and needs assessment, not a stronger antihistamine; if you already have an inhaler and it isn’t holding, that’s an urgent appointment, and blue lips or being unable to speak in full sentences is an ambulance. Never rinse the nose with unboiled tap water. Decongestant nasal sprays beyond 5 days cause rebound blockage. Check with a pharmacist or doctor before any antihistamine in pregnancy, breastfeeding, for a child, or alongside sedatives, and don’t drive on a sedating one. Anyone with glaucoma or prostate trouble should ask before older antihistamines. Eye redness with pain, light sensitivity or blurred vision is not allergy and needs an eye doctor the same day.
Questions people ask
When is pollen season in Islamabad?
The big one runs from late February to early April, driven mostly by paper mulberry, with pine and grasses alongside. A second, smaller season of grasses and weeds comes from August to October. Wet weeks bring relief, and warm windy days make it worse.
Why is Islamabad’s pollen so much worse than other cities?
Paper mulberry. It was planted in huge numbers decades ago as a fast-growing shade tree, and it releases vast amounts of light, wind-borne pollen over a few weeks in spring. Removal drives have thinned it in some sectors, but the trees are still widespread across the city.
How can I tell pollen allergy from a cold?
Pollen allergy means itchy eyes and nose, sneezing fits and clear watery discharge, with no fever, and it lasts weeks and returns at the same time each year. A cold usually starts with a sore throat, may bring a low fever, and clears in about a week.
What helps pollen allergy at home?
Keep pollen off you and out of the bedroom. Wash your face and rinse your hair after being outside, change clothes at the door, keep bedroom windows shut from dawn to mid-morning, and dry laundry indoors in peak weeks. A saline nose rinse morning and evening clears what you’ve breathed in.
How do I make a saline nose rinse at home?
Dissolve a quarter teaspoon of non-iodised salt in 250 ml of water that’s been boiled and cooled. Use a squeeze bottle or neti pot over the basin, morning and on coming home in peak weeks. Never use water straight from the tap; boil it first.
Can I take antihistamines every day for six weeks?
The non-drowsy ones are made for daily use through a season in healthy adults at the pack dose. If you need them for most of the year, that’s a reason to see a doctor about the cause rather than to keep buying them. Check with a doctor or pharmacist in pregnancy or for children.
Can pollen trigger asthma?
It can, and spring is a common time for asthma to flare in pollen-heavy cities. Wheeze, a tight chest or night coughing during pollen weeks needs a doctor’s plan. If a reliever inhaler isn’t helping or you’re struggling to speak, get emergency help.
Is “dust allergy” the same as pollen allergy?
Different triggers, similar symptoms. House dust mite allergy runs all year and is worst on waking in bed; pollen allergy is seasonal and worst outdoors. Many people have both, and the bedroom fixes help both.
Does rain help or make pollen allergy worse?
Steady rain washes pollen out of the air and usually brings a day or two of relief. Thunderstorms in pollen season are the exception: they can briefly make things worse, and they’re known bad days for people with asthma, so keep a reliever inhaler close.
When should itchy eyes from pollen see a doctor?
Pain rather than itch, blurred vision or sensitivity to light isn’t allergy and needs an eye doctor the same day. Sticky yellow discharge or one eye much worse than the other also points to something else and deserves a proper look.
Do children grow out of pollen allergy?
Some do, many don’t. Untreated allergic rhinitis in a child disturbs sleep and school, and it often travels with asthma. A child with a runny, itchy nose every spring deserves a proper check rather than another year of tissues.
Can I move house and escape it?
Within a city, a little: a top floor with sealed windows away from the worst trees beats a ground floor under one. Between cities, people who leave Islamabad for Karachi in March often do notice the difference. Most people can’t do either, which is why the wash-off routine matters.