What you need to know about 'Thunderstorm Asthma'

It's now officially thunderstorm asthma season in Victoria and south-western NSW. On 21 November 2016, the largest thunderstorm asthma event ever recorded hit Melbourne, it killed ten people, six were from Indian, Sri-Lankan and south-east Asian birth, and people from these ethnicities accounted for 39% of excess respiratory presentations to hospitals. This year, experts are warning of a higher risk of a thunderstorm asthma event due to the La Nina weather pattern. We spoke to Dr.Sharmila Sureshkumar about thunderstorm asthma to understand the problem and be better prepared for this kind of emergency in the future.

Source: AAP /Tracey Nearmy

For more details: 

• https://asthma.org.au/ 
• http://www.bom.gov.au/vic/index.shtml 
• https://www.pollenforecast.com.au/ 
• https://airwatch.deakin.edu.au/ 
• www.melbournepollen.com.au/index.php/forecast