ISLAMABAD - Heavy overnight rain in the federal capital was welcomed by the allergy patients as pollen count has decreased and willremain low during next couple of days.
Meteorologists, talking to INP said that the pollen count is expected to rise again during the next week as the sky gets clearer, therefore pollen allergy patients should keep on taking preventive measures like covering their faces and avoiding going out in mornings and evenings.
Muhammad Hanif, a senior meteorologist, said that pollen allergy patients will get relief for next two to three days but they should remain cautious as the pollen count will increase during the next week again. He said that pollen count usually remains high during last week of March and first week of April but it gets low from second week of April onward. This year case of pollen count is different due to the rains and it may remain high till the second week of April.
According to a Met Office, pollen count in Sector E-8 was recorded 1788 pollens per cubic meter as compared to 6934 two days ago, in Sector F-8 1315 pollens per cubic meter as compared to 6785, Sector I-10 315 pollens per cubic meter as compared to 2900, in Sector G-7 1566 pollens per cubic meter as compared to 7026, while highest pollen count of 9499 pollens per cubic meter as compared to 23917 two days ago was recorded in Sector H-8 of the capital city on Sunday.
Pollen allergy symptoms include sneezing, itching, watery eyes, coughing, difficulty in breathing, wheezing and eventually attack of asthma. In addition, there may be itching on the skin accompanied in some cases by gastro-intestinal symptoms.
APP adds: The current rain spell, which continued intermittently for two days, reduced the pollen count in the federal capital to the relief of allergy patients. After the start of the spring season, pines, grasses, cannabis and paper mulberry, which is the largest concentration of pollen in Islamabad,are producing pollen grains in the air and increasing allergy complaints manifolds,reported PTV.
After spring set in early this month, the pollen count began surging and it reached an all-time high as H-8 had reported the biggest pollen count in the city. According to the Met Office, once the current wet spell ends, pollen count in the city will surge again and thus, troubling allergy patients.
Peak pollen season in Islamabad beguns in the first week of March and ends in the middle of April while extremely high pollen concentration is reported in the month of March and relatively less high concentration in July.
Islamabad is among the cities with the highest pollen counts in the world. The pollen concentration is more in Islamabad compared to other cities due to high population of paper mulberry trees.
Its population is the maximum in Islamabad and almost negligible in other cities of the country.