Pollen season set to begin in Islamabad

Islamabad : With fewer rains and higher day temperatures than the normal forecast for Islamabad and Rawalpindi in the next few weeks, the pollen season is set to set in, to the misery of allergy patients.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the count of pollen in the air is likely to peak during the second fortnight of the current month. The pollen season will end by the middle of next month. A spokesman for the PMD said the department monitored airborne pollen in Islamabad throughout the year. "We have installed pollen monitoring devices in sectors H-8, E-8, F-10, and G-6." He said the pollen concentration increased gradually with the onset of the spring season and attained a peak around full blossom.

According to him, the most abundant pollen types in Islamabad come from eight plant species i. e. paper mulberry, acacia, eucalyptus, pines, grasses, cannabis, dandelion and alternaria. Out of all them, paper mulberry shares about 97% of the total pollen, and its concentration touches the extreme limits of about 40,000 per cubic meter of air at the peak of the blossom season.

"People suffering from Asthma and respiratory diseases experience serious consequences due to sharp increase in pollen concen­trations. We [PMD] will continuously publish pollen concentration data throughout the pollen season on our website and media on a daily basis," he said. The PMD spokesman said the people could contact the department for information on pollen count at its telephone numbers i.e. 051-9250334, 051-9250364 and 051-9250369.