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.

As many allergy-sufferers across Finland may have already suspected, birch pollen levels were very high on Wednesday, according to the University of Turku.

According to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, pollen levels are considerably above the average for this time of year, causing considerable irritation for those with pollen allergies.

High spruce pollen levels causing eye, respiratory irrigation and nose bleeds.

Spiking levels of birch pollen around much of the state are also being seen during an early spring in Anchorage this week, as doctors deal with an influx of allergy and asthma patients.

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.