1970-01-01

Hay Wire

The brutally honest allergy forecast — what’s blooming, why it’s worse, and how to survive it without reading a pharma ad disguised as advice.

Niche Explored

Pollen intelligence & allergy data journalism — cross-referencing real-time pollen forecasts with climate trend analysis, plant phenology (what’s actually blooming where), and evidence-based treatment science. Not just “pollen count: HIGH” but data-driven stories explaining why your allergies are brutal this year, what specific plants are attacking you, and what peer-reviewed science says about managing it.

Existing Competition

• Pollen.com — US-only, ad-heavy, ugly, clinical. Gives you a number but never explains context. No historical comparisons, no species-level analysis, no science communication. Owned by IQVIA (pharma data company). Monetized through pharmaceutical ads (Zyrtec, Flonase). No data journalism. No personality. Just a number and a pill ad.
• Google Pollen widget — Shows basic index in search results. No depth, no context, no articles.
• BreezoMeter — Was the best pollen API. Acquired by Google in 2022, folded into Google Maps Pollen API. No longer an independent consumer-facing product.
• Weather.com/AccuWeather — Include basic pollen forecasts as small widgets. No depth, treated as afterthought.
• European Aeroallergen Network (EAN) — Academic, not consumer-friendly. Raw station data.
• r/Allergies — 120K+ members. Constant “is anyone else dying right now?” posts. No centralized intelligence hub.

CRITICAL GAP: Nobody does pollen data journalism. Nobody cross-references what’s actually blooming (iNaturalist citizen science) with forecast models (Open-Meteo, Google, CAMS) with peer-reviewed allergy research (PubMed) with climate trends (NOAA/ERA5) to produce smart, readable analysis. The entire space is either clinical dashboards or pharma-funded “take this pill” content.

Data Sources Found

1. Open-Meteo Air Quality API — air-quality-api.open-meteo.com/v1/air-quality — FREE, no key needed. 6 pollen types (alder, birch, grass, mugwort, olive, ragweed). European coverage from CAMS. Hourly data, 4-day forecast. Also provides PM2.5, ozone, UV index.
2. Google Pollen API — developers.google.com/maps/documentation/pollen — 65+ countries, species-level detail, 5-day forecast, heatmap tiles. Free tier available (requires API key). 1km resolution.
3. CAMS European Air Quality Forecasts — ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu — Research-grade data, 10km resolution, hourly, includes pollen. Free for non-commercial use. NetCDF/GRIB format.
4. iNaturalist API — api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations — FREE. What’s actually flowering/blooming WHERE. Citizen science plant observations with photos, species IDs, geo coordinates. Query by taxon + location + date. Confirmed working: 119 Quercus observations near Cyprus.
5. PubMed/NCBI E-utilities — eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov — FREE. Searchable medical literature database. 16+ recent papers on “pollen allergy season length climate change” alone. Can auto-pull latest research for each article.
6. OpenFDA Drug Events API — api.fda.gov/drug/event.json — FREE. 166,083 adverse event reports for cetirizine alone. Can analyze which allergy medications have most reported side effects, drug interactions.
7. Open-Meteo Weather API — api.open-meteo.com — FREE. Temperature, humidity, wind, rain — all correlated with pollen dispersal patterns.
8. OpenAlex API — api.openalex.org/works — FREE. Academic paper search with citation counts, can find most-cited allergy research.

SEO Analysis

• Keywords: “pollen forecast today” (very high volume, seasonal spike Mar-Jun & Sep-Oct), “allergy forecast”, “what pollen is high right now”, “is pollen bad today”, “pollen count near me”
• Long-tail gaps: “why are my allergies so bad this year”, “which trees are pollinating right now”, “allergy season getting longer climate change”, “best allergy medication 2026 evidence”
• Huge seasonal search spike: Google Trends shows 5-10x traffic increase every spring. Content published in Feb-Mar catches the wave.
• Local gap: Nobody does city-specific or regional deep-dives with actual data journalism. Just generic dashboards.

Communities

• r/Allergies — 120K+ members, very active during spring/fall
• r/Asthma — 80K+ members, pollen is a major trigger topic
• AllergyUK forums — UK-focused community
• Allergic Living magazine — established but not data-driven
• Twitter #pollencount — daily chatter, mostly complaints
• Facebook allergy support groups — dozens with 10K-50K members each

Image/Graphic Feasibility

• ✅ Pollen heatmaps — Google Pollen API provides heatmap tiles directly. Can overlay on maps.
• ✅ Time series charts — Chart.js/D3.js for pollen trends over weeks/months/years
• ✅ Plant identification cards — AI-generated botanical illustrations of allergenic plants with info cards
• ✅ “What’s attacking you” infographics — species breakdown with icons and severity ratings
• ✅ Climate trend overlays — temperature rise vs pollen season length charts
• ✅ Medication comparison tables — evidence-based scorecards
• ⚠️ Microscopy-style pollen grain images — could use AI image gen for artistic versions, but won’t be scientifically accurate

Market Size

• ~400M people worldwide have allergic rhinitis
• ~60M in the US alone (roughly 1 in 5 adults)
• Global allergic rhinitis market: $18B+ (pharmaceuticals only)
• OTC allergy medication sales in US: $8B+ annually
• This audience ALREADY spends money. They buy pills, sprays, air purifiers, HEPA filters. High commercial intent.

Sources

• https://air-quality-api.open-meteo.com/v1/air-quality (confirmed working)
• https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/pollen/overview
• https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/datasets/cams-europe-air-quality-forecasts
• https://api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations (confirmed working)
• https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/esearch.fcgi (confirmed working)
• https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json (confirmed working)
• https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast (confirmed working)
• https://api.openalex.org/works (confirmed working)
• https://www.pollen.com/ (competitor reference)