Spring is going to be hard for allergy sufferers. The forecast for the levels of pollen and spores in the atmosphere in Catalonia for the coming months indicates that they will be high, that spring pollinations will begin normally and strongly, and will have the usual duration.
The experts from the Aerobiological Network of Catalonia of the ICTA-UAB and the Department of Plant Biology and Ecology of the UAB assure that, despite the high temperatures and the drought that is being experienced, the trees (and especially the cypresses) have been charged of flowers extraordinarily and release a lot of pollen, with peaks of very high concentration, which can even cause people who have never suffered from allergies to begin to develop it.
At the beginning of the year, winter pollinations of cypress, hazel and ash have exceeded the historical averages (not the historical maximums) recorded since 1994. And although the allergy risk period began in January, they expect it to extend until well into April especially because of the cypress, overlapping with spring allergies.
The pollinations that usually announce the arrival of spring, such as the shade plantain and the parietaria (both very allergenic) have already begun to appear despite the recent episodes of low temperatures, and it is expected that this second week of March they will begin to appear. notable amounts of pollen are released, so experts advise that allergy sufferers begin taking the necessary precautions to minimize their symptoms.
Furthermore, the UAB experts explained at a press conference, the meteorological models indicate that the months of March, April and May will be slightly warmer than usual and, in terms of precipitation, the first two will be normal, with rain, while May will be drier than usual.
For all these reasons, the team from the Aerobiological Network of Catalonia led by researcher Jordina Belmonte predicts that spring pollinations with more allergens, such as that of plane trees, parietaria and grasses, but also those of poplar, maple, pine, willow, mulberry and, later, birch, ceñigo, plantain and olive, start strong and have the usual duration.
However, these predictions could be altered if there were episodes of heavy rain during the day that dragged the pollen to the ground, thus reducing the risk of allergy. On the other hand, if slow rains occur that provide water to the plants that are going to flower soon, especially herbs, pollen levels could increase and lengthen their presence in the air in the case of parietaria, grasses, the céñigo, the plantain and sagebrush, mainly.
On the other hand, if temperatures are high, the pollination of these herbaceous plants could be shortened. The wind can also alter the predictions since if there are strong episodes they can increase or decrease the concentration of pollen in an area depending on whether it blows from areas without pollen or with little pollen (for example from sea to land) or if, for example, On the contrary, it comes from areas with pollen.
On the other hand, the team led by Belmonte has studied the evolution of the seven types of pollen and a fungal spore that it measures in nine different locations since 1994 and has observed that Tarragona and Girona are the areas where the most types of pollens are decreasing, while in Lleida they are increasing the most.
They have also detected that tree pollens tend to increase (especially banana and olive) while herbaceous pollens show a decreasing trend, especially grass and artemisia. For its part, the alternaria fungus tends to grow everywhere except in Bellaterra.
Dr. Teresa Garriga Baraut, from the Catalan Societat d’Al·lergologia i Immunologia Clínica, also participated in the presentation of the predictions on the pollen levels that can be expected this spring, explaining that the most common allergy in Catalonia is respiratory disease, from which more than two million people already suffer. And her prediction is that the number of people affected will have doubled by 2050.
Allergists estimate that a quarter of the population suffers from rhinitis, accompanied or not by allergic conjunctivitis, and up to 12% from allergic asthma, with pollen grains being the first cause of rhinoconjunctivitis and the second cause of asthma.
And they are convinced that it will get worse as a result of climate change and pollution. Specifically, high temperatures and higher levels of carbon dioxide promote pollen production, prolonging the exposure season and increasing the concentration of allergens. Furthermore, in the case of pollution, toxic particles not only damage the respiratory tract but diesel emissions can modify the characteristics of pollen and make it more allergenic.
On the other hand, drought also influences the behavior of plants and, in the case of Catalonia, it is observed that the pollen season is long and intense and allergy sufferers are exposed to allergens harmful to their health practically all year round.
