THE mystery of why some thunderstorms trigger massive asthma outbreaks has
been cracked by researchers in Australia. They say intense downdraughts of cold
air that sweep up pollen and dust are to blame.
Their work also suggests the problem is greater than anyone realised. But if
forecasters could predict storms of the type likely to trigger attacks, it would
be possible to give sufferers advance warning.
After storms, local hospital emergency departments are sometimes flooded with
people suffering from asthma attacks. Until now it hasn’t been clear why. It is
at least partly due to moisture making pollen grains rupture…
