(NEXSTAR) – With less than a week before the arrival of spring, allergy sufferers are bracing for the season, which will be especially bad in 20 U.S. cities, according to an Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) report released Tuesday.

These "allergy capitals" are located largely in the southern and eastern parts of the country, with Wichita, Kansas, taking the top spot for the third year in a row.

The AAFA's 2025 Allergy Capitals study ranks the top 100 cities based on pollen scores for trees, grasses and weeds, along with over-the-counter medication usage and the number of local allergy specialists.

Kenneth Mendez, CEO and president of AAFA, told Nexstar that there are likely environmental reasons behind the outsized leaderboard presence of cities located in the southeastern U.S.

"Remember, we're looking at three things within the pollen counts – that's trees, weeds and grasses," Mendez said. "So there's three different seasons for that, and you find all those types of pollen in that region."

The cities projected to be the most insufferable when it comes to seasonal allergies in 2025 are: