Traditional pollen monitoring involves manual pollen traps. Manual pollen traps are devices that move air over sticky films over 24 hours, catching any airborne particles. The strips are then removed and looked at under a microscope to count the pollen grains. But this method can be inconsistent and inaccurate, and some pollen data providers don’t count the pollen at weekends or holidays.
The manual way of pollen tracking has many gaps in its data. There can be a delay in reporting and significant gaps in terms of coverage because pollen trap stations can only report according to the trap's physical location.
The data from the sticky pollen traps can take a long time to update - sometimes 24 hours or more. The 'current day' data on some pollen counting stations is not always accurate because it’s based on a forecast. The data only gets updated with the actual measurement once it's been counted manually.
Other providers use high-resolution modeling and technology to help them overcome inaccuracies, delays and low coverage issues.
Why do different pollen data providers have different information for the same location?
There are many pollen data providers globally, and they may measure pollen levels differently for different reasons.
Different pollen data providers have their own thresholds for low, medium, and high pollen levels. There's no right or wrong answer for the threshold level, just different interpretations.