Currently, over 25% of the European population suffer from airborne allergies, and this number only continues to grow. Climate change affects allergy patients in a multitude of ways. For example, rising CO2 levels boost plant growth, which increases pollen emissions and thereby exacerbates allergies, forcing patients to alter their routines to avoid or mitigate the impact of pollen in their daily lives. Air pollution, a key driver of climate change, also has negative effects on both plants and humans. Air pollution irritates the airways of all those exposed, particularly allergy patients, and plants produce more allergenic and irritant pollen when stressed by pollution. In addition to increased and more allergenic pollen, climate change is also changing plant distributions across geographic regions. As a result, people are being exposed to new types of allergens that they may not have been exposed to before. In some cases, this causes new allergies in people who have previously never suffered. Providing real-time information about the levels of aeroallergens, such as pollen and fungal spores, can help to significantly improve the quality of life of allergy patients. According to WHO the percentage of European allergy patients is expected to increase from 25% to 50% by 2050.

The EUMETNET AutoPollen Programme is facilitating the establishment of a European-wide monitoring network to provide information in real time and at high temporal resolution to all end users, including allergy patients, medical practitioners, forecasters and researchers. The environmental observations that this network provides are dramatically improving the quality of forecasts, and help to better diagnose patients, evaluate current and future interventions and guide the direction of meaningful research. Furthermore, the observations are being extended to cover fungal spores, some of which are important agricultural pathogens, thus opening up the possibilities of environmental monitoring to sectors beyond just human health.

The technology and methods to automatically monitor aeroallergens in real time can be applied in any country or geographical region. It is possible to modernize observational networks to provide real-time information to end users globally.

The EUMETNET AutoPollen Programme is helping to prove that this is possible across Europe, and creates the potential for further networks to grow in other parts of the world.

Real-time monitoring of aeroallergens is now possible, and is helping to provide significantly improved information to end users. While developing monitoring networks is a key first step, the whole information chain needs to be considered – from the initial measurements through to how information is communicated publicly in a tailored and targeted way. Working together with stakeholders from the outset is vital – whether with medical practitioners, patient organizations or instrument developers. For example, patients and healthcare professionals can use data and communications to help mitigate and manage diseases, specifically respiratory diseases. National and/or regional governments will have easy access to streamlined information that can be translated or disseminated in their respective locations.

Real-time observations of aeroallergens are revolutionizing the information available to patients and health practitioners – and improving the health of millions of European allergy patients.