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Bad news for anyone with pollen allergies. It is still early in the season - but, already, levels of birch pollen in Paris have exceeded records set in 1993, the Réseau national de surveillance aérobiologique (RNSA) said.

A huge swathe of the country, from the northeast as far south as Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is on red alert for high pollen levels.

The RNSA said ash pollen is spreading in the east, hornbeam pollen in the north and east, and oak pollen is rising in the south.

Grass pollens, meanwhile, are not expected to peak until early May, while warmer early summer weather is likely to see rises in air pollution, which can also exacerbate symptoms for allergy sufferers.