Chandigarh gets its first pollen calendar – Burning Issues

Lead investigator Dr. Ravindra Khaiwal, an Additional Professor of Environmental Health at the Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, said the forest cover in Chandigarh had witnessed a remarkable increase in recent years. He mentioned that a rise in green spaces leads to the increase of airborne pollen, thus increasing pollen-related allergic ailments.

Chandigarh Gets Its First Pollen Calendar

• Chandigarh now has its first pollen calendar, which can identify potential allergy triggers and provide a clear understanding for clinicians as well as allergy sufferers about their causes to help limit their exposure during high pollen loads.

• Pollen grains are male biological structures with the primary role of fertilisation, but when inhaled by humans, they may strain the respiratory system and cause allergies.
• Pollen is released by plants, making millions of people suffer from hay fever, pollinosis and allergic rhinitis.
• Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen, typically when it comes into contact with your mouth, nose, eyes and throat.
• Pollen is a fine powder from plants.
• About 20-30% of the population suffers from allergic rhinitis or hay fever in India, and approximately 15% develop Asthma.
• Pollen calendars represent the time dynamics of airborne pollen present in a particular geographical area.

• This will help prepare early advisories and disseminate them through media channels to the citizens so that they can use protective gear during the period when the concentration of allergic pollens will be high.
• It is also a preventive tool for sensitive people to diminish exposure when the levels of aero-pollen are high during specific periods.
• Though the concept is not essentially new, this is one of the major environmental concerns that had not been addressed for the Indian cities.
• The prominent airborne pollen dominating seasons were spring and autumn, with maximum species surfacing when the phenological and meteorological parameters are considered favourable for pollen grains’ growth, dispersion, and transmission.
• Europe, UK and the US are using regional pollen calendars in a big way to prevent and diagnose allergic rhinitis/hay fever and predict the timing and severity of the pollen season.
• It is important to involve experts while designing parks.
• We should try to plant trees/shrubs that release no or little pollen.