Melbourne weather: Thunderstorm asthma risk as October marks pollen season

Victoria is now a “hot spot” for deadly thunderstorm asthma as the grass pollen season bursts into life early — but experts are warning the vast number of asthmatics are unprepared.

Vast numbers of asthmatics are unprepared for a thunderstorm asthma event, amid Victoria’s earliest start to the grass pollen season in three decades.

This month marked the official start of the season and the potential for a deadly thunderstorm event that then spreads the pollen, triggering widespread asthma attacks.

Melbourne Pollen’s Dr Edwin Lampugnani said they were “seeing conditions we haven’t previously seen” — making exact predictions difficult — but the warm summer ahead increased the risk.

“It’s likely to be a bigger season than we were initially predicting,” he said.

“The grass pollen season started in late September, which we haven’t seen for 30 years.’

He said the season was likely to run beyond its usual December end date with recent wet weather likely to boost grass growth and therefore the pollen count.

Ten Victorians died in November 2016, when the health system was overwhelmed by the world’s worst epidemic thunderstorm asthma event and thousands of people suffered breathing difficulties.

People with asthma or hayfever are at risk, but many victims in 2016 had never received a formal asthma diagnosis.

Victoria chief health officer Dr Clare Looker said the state was in a “much, much better” position than 2016, thanks to initiatives such as the three-day forecast system, but we were a “hot spot” for thunderstorm asthma.

Paramedic Cat Cristofaro responded to thunderstorm asthma incidents. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

“We’re very much in the midst of the risk season now,” she said.

She said the grass pollen season’s current outlook was average but there was always “an element of unpredictability”.

BOM Senior Meterologist Mr Keris Arndt said conditions, including the recently declared El Nino event, meant it was “looking very different from what we’ve seen over the last few years”.

National Asthma Council Australia director and respiratory physician Peter Wark said the number of asthmatics who were prepared for a thunderstorm asthma event was “seriously lower than it should be”.

“Unfortunately, probably only around about 20 per cent of people who have a diagnosis of asthma are regularly or appropriately using a preventer or have been prescribed a preventer,” Professor Wark said.

“In people over the age of six, that should be 80 per cent.”

He said the issue was caused by inflammation from inhaling the grass pollen in the air and the “best protection” was an asthma action plan and regular preventer use.

Dr Looker urged anyone with respiratory or hay fever symptoms to “get on top of your asthma action plan or hay fever treatment plan” with their GP and monitor the forecasting system.

Victoria’s forecasting system, available on the VicEmergency app and website, rates the risk of an epidemic thunderstorm asthma event in Victoria for the next three days.

On days that are rated high risk, health authorities say Victorians who are vulnerable to an attack should stay indoors where possible, close windows and doors and turn off airconditioning.