Predicting days of high allergenic risk during Betula pollination using weather types

Abstract

The aim of this study was to build up a picture of the influence of meteorological conditions on pollen and pollinosis, taking account of weather types, pollen concentrations in the air and pollinosis symptoms, with the aim of preventing allergic responses. The study took place in Burgundy from 1996 to 1998, during the pollination of the birch (Betula), which is the most important arborean allergen in this region. We used daily pollen data from four Hirst volumetric traps, identified weather types by Bénichou's classification, and obtained data on the occurrence of rhinitis, conjunctivitis, asthma and coughing from a sample of 100 patients. These data were analysed by multiple-component analysis. The results show that pollen dispersal is favoured by windy conditions, low relative humidity, precipitation below 2 mm and temperatures above 6 degrees C. Such weather also favours pollinosis, but other particular meteorological situations, even if they do not assist pollen dispersal, can act directly on the development of symptoms: a decrease of temperature (3 degrees C) led to the development of rhinitis and conjunctivitis, while strong winds were associated with many cases of conjunctivitis and asthma, owing to the irritant effect of cold or wind; asthma was favoured by temperature inversions with fog, probably because such weather corresponds to high levels of pollution, which act on bronchial hyperreactivity. Because the weather types favouring pollination and pollinosis are predicted by the meteorological office, this can constitute a tool for reducing the effect of high-risk allergenic days.

Association of Weather Conditions with Childhood Admissions for Wheezy Bronchitis or Asthma in Athens

“…It has been found that RH is closely related to aeroallergen levels. It can influence pollen release by flower opening [21] and increase pollen grain occurrence in the atmosphere [22, 23], although an inverse relation to pollen dispersal has also been found making pollens heavier and preventing them from flying long distances [24, 25]. Fungal spore counts of Cladosporium in the atmosphere are correlated with RH, and their concentration has been reported to account for a significant proportion of the asthma exacerbation in children [26, 27], even though increased RH produces larger spore particles than dry air [28].…”

MACVIA-ARIA Sentinel NetworK for allergic rhinitis (MASK-rhinitis): the new generation guideline implementation

“…Meteorological data may, in the future, be of interest to predict the onset of the season, but more information is needed (32)(33)(34)(35). Combining several data sources using advanced data engineering may offer advances, but this method is still complex and not available for all pollen species in many different areas (36,37).…”

Multi-decadal classification of synoptic weather types, observed trends and links to rainfall characteristics over Saudi Arabia

“…Thus, it has been used in several environments with varied climate regimes (e.g., Jones et al, 1993;Goodess and Palutikof, 1998;Trigo and DaCamara, 2000;Linderson, 2001;Vicente-Serrano and López-Moreno, 2006;Lorenzo et al, 2011;Ramos et al, 2011). This method has also been used as a tool for forecasting in a wide range of environmental studies, including analysis of air pollution (Hongisto and Joffre, 2005), ozone concentration (Tang et al, 2009), biometeorology (Laaidi, 2001), health risks (Rusticucci et al, 2002), wildfires (Papadopoulos et al, 2014), floods (Prudhomme andGenevier, 2011), droughts (Vicente-Serrano et al, 2011), and soil erosion (Ekström et al, 2002).…”