Why Melbourne is the world’s hayfever capital

A study conducted in the Amazon rainforest has provided new details on why Melbourne is the hayfever capital of the world.

The five-year study used the 300-metre-high Amazon Tall Tower Observatory to monitor pollen air travel.

Co-author of the study, La Trobe University’s Dr Philip Taylor, says the findings reveal farmland around Melbourne is not to blame for hayfever among city-dwellers.

“Most of the pollen, most of the time, is coming from around you in the suburbs … not from the farms,” he told Jacqui Felgate and Jimmy Bartel, filling in for Ross and Russel.

And Dr Taylor says plane trees get too much blame for allergies, with rye grasses, other European trees and fungi, and Melbourne’s weather also contributing.

“If you have a look at your scratch test … most people aren’t that allergic to plane trees,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear what the Amazon research discovered