Correlation of Air-Borne Grass Pollen Levels with Meteorological Data

The effects of the widely differing weather conditions of the summers of 1977 and 1978 on the concentration of air-borne grass pollen over an area on the west coast of Ireland were investigated. The incidence of both total and grass pollen in the atmosphere was significantly lower in the 1978 season than in 1977. The difference in concentration recorded for the two seasons was attributed mainly to wind direction which in the summer of 1978 blew mostly over the sea while in the corresponding period of 1977 was predominantly overland. A correlation was also made between the recorded pollen counts for both seasons and the recorded wind velocity, rainfall and incidence of allergy resulting from grass pollen in the area.