Warm temperatures are causing birch buds to burst, sending large amounts of pollen in the air. In Chuathbaluk, there was so much pollen, it was visible as a tornado.

Unusually high levels of seasonal pollen create a visible sheen on water.

After a cold winter and spring, high temperatures around the Interior prompted birch tree buds to burst, sending record-setting levels of pollen into the air.

Local residents debated whether a massive release of spruce pollen, which accumulated on every surface—including car bonnets, picnic tables and the nearby Kachemak Bay—amounted to a “golden sheen” or a “yellow scum”. The fine dust turned the surface of the sea the colour of butter and left a bright, lemony line on shore that marked the extent of high tide and gave off a sickly sweet smell. This huge release of pollen might be yet another symptom of a rapidly changing environment.