Brisbane asthmatics can breathe a sigh of relief after a real-time pollen counter was launched by Queensland scientists last week, just in time for asthma season.
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The new website and free app provide daily updates on the city's pollen count, potentially preventing unpleasant encounters for asthmatics across south-east Queensland.
A new pollen trap has been constructed at the state government's air quality monitoring station in Rocklea in Brisbane's south, where scientists will collect samples and test them for intensity.
“Our team members collect pollen caught in the trap, and these samples are analysed under microscope in our laboratory to give measurements of pollen grains per cubic metre of air,” Professor Jan Davies from the Queensland University of Technology said.
“These measurements are combined with weather information and the Landsat and MODIS satellite data to produce the forecast on a scale from low to extreme.”
Brisbane is currently in the thick of asthma season as subtropical grasses begin flowering. The worst of the season is expected between January and April.
The new website provides a daily forecast and a forecast for the next six days, as well as the free phone app.
Other pollen monitoring sites are being set up around south-east Queensland, including at the Prince Charles Hospital in Chermside and further west toward Ipswich.
Those sites, Professor Davies said, will later also provide information to the website.
Time-lapse photos will also be taken around the pollen monitoring sites to track when grass is flowering, ideally to improve the pollen forecast.
The new website is part of the national AusPollen partnership, particularly after the 2016 Melbourne thunderstorm asthma incident that killed 10 people and affected more than 10,000.
Professor Davies is the head of the AusPollen partnership, as well as being the head of QUT's allergy research group.
“With the information provided by the pollen count people can be forewarned and take protective measures on expected high pollendays – avoid being outside or hanging out washing, keeping their home and car windows closed, and taking preventative medications such as antihistamines,” she said.
“People who experience severe hayfever or a cough, tight chest or breathing difficulties during the pollen season should seek medical advice, as they may have undiagnosed asthma.
“And those with asthma should ensure they have an up-to-date asthma action plan and are ready to respond should they have breathing difficulties.”
