We could see thunderstorm asthma in south-eastern Australia this season – here’s how to prepare

Fri, 1 Dec 2023 12:09:56 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/we-could-see-thunderstorm-asthma-in-south-eastern-australia-this-season-heres-how-to-prepare-215793>

"Victorians have been warned to prepare for the possibility of thunderstorm
asthma again this season.

In temperate regions of Australia, thunderstorm asthma occurs when levels of
grass pollen in the air are high, and when thunderstorm fronts pass over grass
pollen sources. The weather conditions we see with a thunderstorm, including
stormy winds and moisture, can break up pollen into particles small enough to
enter the airways.

Thunderstorm asthma events have been noted all over the world, but the most
severe ever reported was in Melbourne on November 21, 2016. In one night almost
3,500 people sought emergency care and ten people died.

While we don’t have reason to expect we’ll see another emergency at this scale,
a longer than usual grass pollen season suggests a risk of thunderstorm asthma
in southern Australia this year.

At the time of writing, on Monday October 30, west and south Gippsland was
classified as being at high risk of thunderstorm asthma.

So who is at highest risk, and what’s the best way to prepare?"

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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