Pollen count may rise in March with onset of spring season

Islamabad: The pollen count is likely to rise in March in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad which coincides with the spring season.

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) monitors airborne pollen in Islamabad throughout the year.

Pollen monitoring unit of PMD has installed pollen monitoring devices during the spring season in different sectors of Islamabad (H-8, E-8, F-10 and G-6).

The pollen concentration increases gradually with the onset of spring season and attains its peak around mid March, an official of Met office told APP on Saturday.

The most abundant pollen types in Islamabad are from eight trees including Paper Mulberry, Acacia, Eucalyptus, Pines, Grasses, Cannabis, Dandelion and Alternaria.

Out of all these plants, Paper Mulberry shares about 97 per cent 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 complications due to sharp increase in pollen concentrations, he added.

It will be regularly uploaded on PMD website: www.pmd. gov.pk.  Public may contact at following phone numbers for related information; 051-9250334, 051-9250364 and 051-9250369 or email atpollen@pmd.gov.pk for queries regarding pollen count.