Pollen count of paper mulberry crosses 34,000 in capital

ISLAMABAD: The pollen concentration of paper mulberry in the air crossed the 34,000 per cubic metre (pcm) mark on Monday, and is expected to rise further in the coming days.

An official of the Pakistan Meteorological Department told APP that the pollen count of paper mulberry was recorded 34,126 pcm in Sector H-8, 14,774 in E-8, 12,479 in F-8, 12, 099 in G-7 and 2,217 pcm in I-10, which was categorised as very high concentration. The pollen concentration of paper mulberry is likely to be extremely high in the coming days, the official said.

The pollen concentration of grasses and pine was reported high and moderate, with slight change of pollen count in different sectors. Earlier, PMD Director General Arif Mehmood had said that clear sunshine in coming days would further increase the pollen count, affecting a lot of people allergic to pollen concentration. He said the Met Office was regularly issuing updates about the pollen count and it had also launched an Interactive Response System (IRS) with a number 111-638-638 to facilitate people to know about the rise and fall in concentration.

The DG said the pollen season had set in late as the sprouting and blossom season had been delayed by 10 to 15 days due to late winter season this year. The Met Office had earlier issued an advisory, which said that pollen density in the air over the western zones of Islamabad would be comfortably less than the eastern zones.

Therefore, hyper-sensitive individuals should stay away from Islamabad during the peak concentrations, Arif said. app

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