Beijing residents are once again bracing for a seasonal nuisance that has become something of a tradition: the city’s annual “snowstorm” of willow and poplar catkins.
The catkins are essentially seeds from female willow and poplar trees, encased in downy fibres. After pollination in spring, the female trees produce seed pods that split open upon ripening, releasing the fluffy seeds to disperse in the wind.
The wisps absorb bacteria, pollen and dust from the air, triggering respiratory and skin allergies in many people.
But municipal authorities have ruled out cutting down the trees.
In an article published on Monday by the municipal government’s publicity department, Jiang Yingshu, head of the technology division at the municipal forestry and parks bureau, said that instead some trees would be sterilised.
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