Skip to main content

Ad

Thunderstorm asthma, the unexpected impact of lightning storms on pollen allergies

Thunderstorm asthma, the unexpected impact of lightning storms on pollen allergies

Image credit: Michiel Baatsen, (distributed via imaggeo)

In October 2015 a series of massive thunderstorms rolled across the Eastern Mediterranean. In the hours and days that followed many people living along the Israeli coast had to go to their nearest medical centre because they were experiencing respiratory problems, which appeared very similar to asthma. But what could have caused these breathing problems? Well in research recently published in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Yoav Yair and their co-authors reveal that these people were probably suffering from thunderstorm asthma.

Thunderstorm asthma is a rare condition, where a severe thunderstorm can increase the number of airborne particles, including pollen and pollution. In the case of the pollens, the high humidity and pressure of very large thunderstorms can cause the pollen grains to break apart, releasing the allergens to the atmosphere in much higher concentrations than normal. These allergens are then forced back down to the ground level in powerful downdrafts. In desert areas, these downdrafts are often very visible as they also collect dust and other tiny particles to form dust walls or ‘haboobs’ that travel out ahead of the storm.


If the thunderstorm happens during a time of year when there is pollen in the air anyway (usually in the spring or summer) the massive increase in pollen-based allergens can cause thunderstorm asthma. Grass pollens are particularly bad offenders here, as the pollens are too large to cause severe allergic reactions normally (usually resulting in milder symptoms like hayfever) but the combination of heavy rainfall AND the pressure and humidity of the storm causes the pollen grains to break apart and release a major allergen. In addition to the allergic reactions caused by the pollen fragments, the lightning itself could make the problem worse, as intense lightning creates atmospheric oxides like ozone. You may recognise these atmospheric oxides as the sizzling smell you can sometimes detect when a lightning storm is nearby. In large enough amounts, ozone can also cause respiratory problems, which just adds to the issues faced by people who are sensitive to these conditions.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your valuable comment.

Popular posts from this blog

"Clyde’s Spot" on Jupiter

"Clyde’s Spot" on Jupiter Source: NASA Image credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS   This image from NASA’s Juno spacecraft captures several storms in Jupiter’s southern hemisphere. Some of these storms, including the Great Red Spot at upper left, have been churning in the planet’s atmosphere for many years, but when Juno obtained this view of Jupiter, the smaller, oval-shaped feature at the centre of the image was brand new. Learn more.   
Post a Comment
Read more

Moon Craters a Window to Earth's Past

Moon Craters a Window to Earth's Past Story by Lonnie Shekhtman (Source: NASA Visualization Explorer) By looking at the Moon a group of scientists is challenging our understanding of a part of Earth’s history. On Earth, asteroid impacts increased by two to three times starting around 290 million years ago. For decades many experts assumed that early Earth craters have been worn away by the wind, storms, and other geologic processes. This idea explained why Earth has fewer older craters than expected compared to other bodies in the solar system, but it made it difficult to find an accurate impact rate and to determine whether it had changed over time. But by studying data on Moon craters from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, scientists found the Moon and Earth have historically shared a similar rate of asteroid impacts. The surface of the Moon is riddled with both ancient craters mostly undisturbed by erosion and craters from modern-day impacts making it the most complete and ac...
Post a Comment
Read more

Typhoon changed earthquake patterns

Typhoon changed earthquake patterns Intensive erosion influenced seismicity Source:   GFZ GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Helmholtz Centre The increased mass shift due to the erosion of the typhoon and the deposit in the lower areas leads to increased seismic activity there (figure: Philippe Steer, University of Rennes) The Earth's crust is under constant stress. Every now and then this stress is discharged in heavy earthquakes, mostly  caused by the slow movement of Earth's crustal plates. There is, however, another influencing factor that has received little attention so far: intensive erosion can temporarily change the earthquake activity (seismicity) of a region significantly. This has now been shown for Taiwan by researchers from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in cooperation with international colleagues.  They report on this in the journal Scientific Reports .  Read more.  
Post a Comment
Read more