A decade of airborne pollen monitoring in an allergic rhinitis hotspot of Australia: insights into how climate change and urban development are altering pollen seasons and human wellbeing.

Allergic rhinitis affects half a billion people globally, including a fifth of the Australian population. In Canberra, the nation’s capital, more than 1 in 3 people suffer from the disease and this can cause significant negative impacts on community wellbeing as well as the local economy. Thunderstorm Asthma events have also been recorded and have led to increasing public and government concern with regard to improving our responses to thunderstorm asthma and other environmental drivers of respiratory morbidity and mortality. Over the last decade the Canberra Pollen Monitoring Program has been monitoring airborne allergenic pollen and fungal spores in Canberra on a daily basis. These records of airborne pollen are beginning to provide a historical lens to create pollen taxa calendars, estimate the pollen season length and variability, and to provide the basis for forecast evaluation.

In this presentation we provide the latest information on the seasonal nature of the most significant airborne tree pollen, herb pollen and spore types for Canberra, Australia. The development of a citizen science approach designed to provide the public with daily airborne allergenic pollen information while allowing users to give feedback on their hay fever symptoms, is also providing insights into the impact of airborne pollen on people in the region. We also consider why Canberra is a hotspot for allergic rhinitis in Australia and discuss how pollen and spore exposure is likely to be altered by future climate change and rapid urban development.