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Real-time pollen data for Albany — updated daily.
Albany's defining spring allergen. Pecan belongs to the hickory genus, and hickory-family pollen is among the more potent tree allergens in the Southeast. Commercial orchards planted in dense, even-aged blocks of similar genetics release pollen in a synchronized burst rather than staggering, producing concentrated exposure through April and May. Residents near orchard blocks experience levels well above regional averages.
Oak is a major tree allergen throughout southwest Georgia. Water oak, live oak, willow oak, post oak, and turkey oak occur across residential neighborhoods, farm margins, and remaining woodland. Oak grains are microscopic and remain airborne for hours, penetrating deep into the airways.
Loblolly, longleaf, and slash pine produce the visible spring yellow film across the Coastal Plain. Sweetgum, hickory, elm, red maple, and river birch contribute, with cedar and juniper opening the season in February. Pine grains are large and less efficient at reaching deep airways than pecan or oak, but volume makes pine a meaningful irritant.
A distinctive southwest Georgia exposure. Peanut digging and combining generate heavy field dust through September and October. Pecan harvest follows October into December, with mechanical shakers releasing substantial particulate. Cotton harvest overlaps. This dust carries soil, plant debris, and mold, functioning as a respiratory irritant that amplifies reactions to the ragweed peaking at the same time.
Bahia is widespread across pasture, roadsides, and unmaintained ground, producing pollen on tall seed stalks well into autumn. Bermuda dominates lawns, parks, and athletic fields. Johnson grass grows along field margins and ditches. Albany's long frost-free season extends grass pollen substantially beyond north Georgia timing.
Ragweed is the dominant fall allergen and runs long at this latitude. Field edges, fallow ground, and turnrows provide extensive habitat across the agricultural landscape. Pigweed, lamb's quarters, nettle, and sage contribute. Goldenrod blooms conspicuously alongside but is insect-pollinated and produces little airborne pollen.
Unlike river-corridor cities where mold concentrates along one waterway, Albany's karst landscape scatters it. Limesink ponds, marshes, and springs appear as isolated wet pockets through farmland, and groundwater surfaces unpredictably. Cladosporium and Alternaria peak in late summer and early fall. Aspergillus and Penicillium are common indoors. Flint River floodplain and Radium Springs add localized humidity.
The Flint River has flooded catastrophically, most severely in 1994. Flat terrain and karst drainage mean water leaves slowly, and subtropical warmth accelerates fungal colonization of wet building materials to within roughly 24 to 48 hours — far faster than in cooler climates. Flood-affected structures require immediate remediation.
Peanut plants self-pollinate and release little airborne pollen. Harvest-season air carries field dust — soil, plant debris, and mold — which is a respiratory irritant capable of aggravating asthma and allergic rhinitis. This is distinct from peanut food allergy, a separate immune condition requiring separate evaluation.
Dust mites thrive in the humid subtropical climate at high concentrations year-round. Pet dander is significant. Cockroach allergens occur in older housing stock. Indoor mold risk is elevated in flood-affected structures and homes near limesink wet ground.
Severity: Low to Moderate. Albany's only genuinely quiet stretch, and it is short. Pecan harvest finishes in early December, ending the agricultural dust season. Trees and grasses go dormant. Indoor allergens dominate, with dust mites and pet dander peaking under closed-window heating. Cedar and juniper may begin by mid-January. This is the window to establish preventive treatment.
Severity: Moderate to High. Deep South Georgia opens tree season well ahead of the Piedmont. Maple, elm, cedar, and juniper lead. Oak begins ramping. Pine starts producing the visible yellow film. River birch begins along the Flint. Grass begins greening on Bahia pasture and Bermuda lawns.
Severity: Severe. Albany's hardest spring stretch. Pecan orchards release in a synchronized burst across the Flint River corridor and surrounding farmland. Oak peaks alongside. Pine, sweetgum, and hickory compound the load. Grass climbs steadily. Dry, breezy days spike counts sharply, and residents near orchard blocks face the heaviest exposure.
Severity: High. Bahia and Bermuda grass dominate through the long warm season. Heat and humidity build to their annual maximum. Limesink ponds and Flint River floodplain sustain mold. Afternoon thunderstorms arrive, and on flat karst terrain drainage is uneven. Ragweed opens in August. Dust mites reach high indoor concentrations.
Severity: Severe. Albany's most difficult period for many residents. Ragweed peaks while peanut digging and combining generate heavy field dust across the region, and cotton harvest overlaps. Biological pollen and agricultural particulate arrive together, each amplifying the other. Alternaria and Cladosporium reach annual peaks. Grass continues.
Severity: High. Ragweed persists into late October, extended by the long frost-free season. Pecan harvest begins, with mechanical shakers striking trees and releasing substantial dust through December. Leaf and orchard litter decomposition sustains Cladosporium and Aspergillus. Counts finally drop as harvest concludes and winter arrives.
Albany replaced cotton with pecans as its primary commercial crop beginning in the late nineteenth century, and southwest Georgia remains one of the most productive pecan regions in the country. That history matters clinically, because pecan belongs to the hickory genus and hickory-family pollen is among the more potent tree allergens in the South. An orchard compounds it: trees planted in dense, even-aged, genetically similar blocks reach reproductive maturity together and release pollen in a tightly synchronized burst rather than the staggered pattern of mixed natural forest. April and May are the peak, and residents living near orchard blocks can face exposure well above what the general area count suggests. If your worst weeks are consistently late spring rather than early spring, pecan is a strong candidate for testing.
This question comes up constantly in southwest Georgia and deserves a clear answer. Peanut plants are legumes that flower low to the ground and largely self-pollinate; they do not release meaningful quantities of airborne pollen the way pecan, oak, or ragweed do. What fills the air during peanut season is field dust — soil, plant debris, and associated mold stirred up when the crop is dug, inverted, and combined. That dust is a genuine respiratory irritant, and it can worsen existing asthma and allergic rhinitis. It is not the same thing as peanut food allergy, which is a distinct immune condition. Growing up surrounded by peanut fields does not, by itself, give a child a peanut allergy. If you have concerns about food allergy specifically, that is a separate evaluation from environmental allergy testing, and worth raising with a board-certified allergist directly rather than assuming a connection to the fields.
Southwest Georgia's agricultural calendar creates a distinct autumn exposure that most of the state does not experience. Peanut digging and combining run through September and October. Pecan harvest follows, with mechanical shakers striking trees to bring nuts down and generating substantial dust from October into December. Cotton harvest overlaps. All of it lands during ragweed peak, so residents face agricultural particulate and the year's heaviest weed pollen simultaneously. On active harvest days near fields or orchards, keep windows closed, run HEPA filtration, and set vehicle ventilation to recirculate when driving past working equipment.
Albany sits on the Dougherty Plain, where Ocala limestone lies close to the surface and dissolves over time into sinkholes, caves, and springs. This produces an unusual hydrology: surface water disappears underground, groundwater surfaces unpredictably, and there are comparatively few streams across the flatter parts of the plain. Instead of a single wet river corridor, the landscape is dotted with isolated limesink ponds and marshes scattered through farmland. For mold exposure this matters practically — the damp ground near you may not be a creek but a limesink depression, and it may sit nowhere near an obvious waterway. Learn where the low, wet spots are on your own property and in your neighborhood rather than assuming distance from the river means dry ground.
The Flint River has flooded Albany repeatedly — in 1841, 1925, and most catastrophically in 1994, when Tropical Storm Alberto drove the river past forty-three feet, put twenty-three square miles of Dougherty County under water, and forced 23,000 residents to evacuate. Flat terrain and karst drainage mean floodwater leaves slowly, and deep South Georgia's subtropical warmth accelerates fungal colonization of wet building materials to within roughly 24 to 48 hours. After any flooding or water intrusion, remediation needs to begin immediately rather than waiting for things to dry on their own. For anyone with asthma or mold sensitivity, that timeline matters more here than in cooler or better-drained parts of the state.
Albany's deep South Georgia position gives it one of the longest frost-free seasons in the state. Tree pollen opens in February, pecan and oak peak in April and May, Bahia and Bermuda grass run from spring well into autumn, and ragweed persists from August into late October or beyond. Layer harvest dust on top of the fall weeds and the practical window of genuine relief narrows to a few weeks in midwinter. If you have historically treated allergies as a spring problem, the calendar here does not support that — preventive medication generally needs to run far longer than most residents assume.
No. Peanut plants are legumes that flower low to the ground and largely self-pollinate, so they release little meaningful airborne pollen. What fills the air during harvest is field dust — soil, plant debris, and mold — which is a genuine respiratory irritant that can aggravate asthma and allergic rhinitis, but is not a route to food allergy. Peanut food allergy is a distinct immune condition evaluated separately from environmental allergy, and concerns about it should be raised directly with a board-certified allergist.
April and May are worst for pollen, when pecan orchards peak alongside oak. But autumn is harder for many residents: ragweed peaks August into late October while peanut, pecan, and cotton harvest generate heavy agricultural dust from September through December. Grass runs April into autumn. Genuine relief narrows to a brief midwinter window.
Two reasons. Pecan belongs to the hickory genus, and hickory-family pollen is among the more potent tree allergens in the Southeast. And commercial orchards are dense, even-aged blocks of genetically similar trees, so they mature and release pollen together in a synchronized burst rather than the staggered pattern of mixed natural forest. Albany replaced cotton with pecans as its primary crop in the late 1800s, so orchards are extensive here.
Albany sits on the Dougherty Plain, where limestone near the surface dissolves into sinkholes, caves, and springs. Water moves substantially underground, and there are relatively few surface streams. Wetlands appear as isolated limesink ponds scattered through farmland rather than concentrating along one river corridor. Practically, this means the damp ground near you may be a limesink depression nowhere near an obvious waterway — so distance from the Flint River does not reliably predict your mold exposure.
Begin remediation immediately rather than waiting for things to dry. Albany's flat terrain and karst drainage mean floodwater leaves slowly, and deep South Georgia's subtropical warmth accelerates fungal colonization of wet building materials to within roughly 24 to 48 hours. The Flint River has flooded severely more than once, most catastrophically in 1994 when it crested above forty-three feet and put twenty-three square miles of the county underwater.
Yes. HeyAllergy provides telemedicine appointments with board-certified allergists licensed in Georgia. No waitlist — particularly valuable in southwest Georgia, where specialty care is concentrated in the larger metros hours away. Available throughout the region including Albany, Leesburg, Sylvester, Camilla, Dawson, and surrounding communities.
HeyPak® sublingual immunotherapy drops are customized based on allergy blood test results and target environmental allergens — for Albany residents, that means local pecan, oak, pine, Bahia and Bermuda grass, ragweed, mold, and dust mite allergens specific to southwest Georgia. Daily drops placed under the tongue retrain your immune system rather than just suppressing symptoms, with improvement typically seen in 3–6 months. Treatment is recommended for 3–5 years for lasting relief. Starting at $47/month. Food allergies are managed differently and are worth discussing separately with your allergist.
HeyAllergy accepts Medicare and most major PPO health plans, including United Healthcare, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, Oscar, and Tricare. Contact your insurance provider with Tax ID: 85-0834175 to confirm telemedicine coverage.
Albany is a city of approximately 67,000 and the seat of Dougherty County, situated on the Flint River in deep southwest Georgia. It has been the commercial center of the region for most of its history. Beginning around 1890, local agriculture shifted away from its nineteenth-century reliance on cotton toward pecans and peanuts — a transition that shaped both the regional economy and, as it turns out, the local allergen environment. Albany sits on the Dougherty Plain, a karst landscape of near-surface limestone, sinkholes, and springs that behaves quite differently from the Piedmont clay and Fall Line sands found further north.
In the late nineteenth century, Albany farmers began replacing cotton with pecans as their primary commercial crop, and orchards have lined the Flint River corridor ever since — workers were harvesting at the Barnwell Pecan Orchards near Albany as early as 1918. Pecan belongs to the hickory genus, and hickory-family pollen is among the more significant tree allergens in the Southeast. Orchard cultivation intensifies the effect: trees planted in dense, even-aged blocks of similar genetics mature and release pollen together, producing a concentrated April-to-May burst rather than the staggered release of mixed natural woodland. Residents near orchard blocks experience exposure well above what regional averages would indicate.
Southwest Georgia is at the center of American peanut production, and the question of whether living among peanut fields causes peanut allergy comes up frequently here. It does not. Peanut plants are legumes that flower low to the ground and largely self-pollinate, releasing little meaningful airborne pollen. What becomes airborne during the season is field dust — soil, plant material, and associated mold lifted when the crop is dug, inverted, and run through a combine. That dust is a real respiratory irritant capable of aggravating asthma and allergic rhinitis, but it is a mechanical particulate exposure rather than a route to food allergy. Peanut food allergy is a distinct immune condition evaluated separately from environmental allergy, and families with concerns about it should raise them directly with a board-certified allergist.
Albany's Ocala limestone bedrock lies close to the surface and dissolves over geologic time into sinkholes, caverns, and springs. The result is a landscape that is mostly flat to gently rolling, with comparatively few surface streams across the flatter portions and water moving substantially underground instead. Rather than concentrating along a single river corridor, wetlands here appear as isolated limesink ponds and marshes scattered through agricultural land — described by ecologists as biological oases in a farmed landscape. Radium Springs, just outside the city, is the largest natural spring in Georgia and one of the state's seven natural wonders, discharging roughly 70,000 gallons per minute through an extensive underwater cavern system into the Flint River. For mold exposure, this dispersed and unpredictable wet-ground pattern is genuinely different from the linear river-corridor mold geography found elsewhere in Georgia.
The Flint River has overrun its banks repeatedly — in 1841, in 1925, and most severely in the summer of 1994, when Tropical Storm Alberto produced what was described as a five-hundred-year flood. The river crested above forty-three feet at Albany, twenty-three square miles of Dougherty County went under water, and 23,000 residents evacuated. Damage ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and Albany State University's flooded campus required a $150 million reconstruction. Radium Springs was damaged badly enough that it never reopened for swimming. Flat terrain and karst drainage mean floodwater departs slowly, and subtropical warmth drives rapid fungal colonization of wet building materials.
Albany's agricultural calendar produces an autumn exposure pattern uncommon elsewhere in Georgia. Peanut digging and combining run through September and October, generating heavy field dust. Pecan harvest follows from October into December, with mechanical shakers striking trees and releasing substantial particulate. Cotton harvest overlaps both. All of this coincides with ragweed's annual peak, so the region faces agricultural dust and its heaviest weed pollen at the same time — a compounding effect that makes autumn, not spring, the hardest stretch for many local patients.
Albany's southern latitude gives it one of Georgia's longest frost-free seasons. Tree pollen opens in February, pecan and oak peak in April and May, Bahia and Bermuda grass run from spring deep into autumn, and ragweed persists from August into late October or beyond. With harvest dust layered on top of fall weeds, genuine relief narrows to a brief midwinter window.
Albany's pecan orchards producing concentrated synchronized monoculture pollen in late spring, an agricultural harvest season generating heavy particulate exactly when ragweed peaks, karst geology scattering wet ground and mold sources unpredictably through farmland rather than along a river corridor, a documented history of catastrophic Flint River flooding with rapid subtropical mold colonization, and one of the state's longest allergen calendars create an allergy environment unlike anywhere else in Georgia. HeyAllergy connects Albany residents with board-certified allergists through telemedicine. Patients receive allergy blood testing, personalized treatment, and HeyPak® sublingual immunotherapy drops custom-formulated for southwest Georgia environmental allergens. Treatment starts at $47/month. No needles, no clinic visits, no waitlist.
