Ozone, UV and Aerosol studies

KULeuven, RMI, Sciensano, UHasselt, UNamur

To date, 12 to 28% of the European population suffers from hay fever and the number of asthma and allergenic rhinitis patients keeps on rising at a dramatic rate. There is growing evidence that changes in land use and vegetation composition - driven by climate change and human intervention - may increase the emission, dispersion and allergenicity of airborne allergenic pollen grains, prompting a further decline in the quality of life of allergy-sufferers as well as increasing socio-economic costs. Green spaces are generally assumed to have a negative effect on allergy-sufferers due to the higher pollen levels they emit. Yet, the role that plants and plant assemblages (plant diversity) play in the complex interaction between pollen, environmental conditions and allergy symptoms in patients, is still partly unknown and ambiguous. Although recent studies indicate that plant diversity might also have a mitigating effect on the prevalence of allergies and asthma as well as on the severity of its symptoms, quantitative evidence is still lacking.

In this light, RESPIRIT aims at exploring and understanding the spatial and temporal effects of plant diversity on respiratory health in general and allergic asthma and allergenic rhinitis specifically. We aim at examining three aspects of this relationship: (i) the chronic health effect (Does long term exposure to plant diversity has an impact on the risk of allergy or asthma prevalence?); (ii) the acute health effect (Does recent exposure to plant diversity has an impact on the acute expression of allergenic symptom severity?); and (iii) possible future health effects (How will future changes in plant diversity, coupled to climate and land use changes, have an impact on (i) and (ii)?).

Specifically, the RMI will focus on climate modelling scenarios and the modelling of pollen.

2016-2021

Dr. ir. Willem Verstraeten, Dr. Rafiq Hamdi and Dr. ir. Andy Delcloo
Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
Ringlaan 3
B-1180 Ukkel

Contact: Andy Delcloo or Willem Verstraeten