A garden bringing together the most allergenic plant species in Île-de-France, or "
pollinarium
", has opened at the Parc Floral de Paris to scrutinize the appearance of the first pollens and thus be able to alert allergy sufferers in real time, learned Tuesday, May 2, World Asthma and Allergy Day.
For 25 years, the City of Paris has been monitoring the concentration of pollen in the ambient air using a sensor located on the roof of the Institut Pasteur.
The new "
pollinarium
" allows him to anticipate the arrival of grains from the first broadcasts, ie two to three weeks before their general distribution in the air of the capital, and to inform the population.
Read alsoLike bees, a crustacean “pollinates” algae
Eight tree species and ten herbaceous species, mainly grasses, were collected within a radius of 20 to 50 km around the capital.
Hazel, birch, alder, hornbeam, foxtail, fluff... They are presented near the Parc Floral pond, with four plants per species harvested from the four cardinal points of Paris in order to represent the genetic diversity of the most allergenic plants in the Ile-de-France region. .
"Reduce the duration of treatment"
To identify the pollens, the gardeners of the park come every morning to tap the inflorescences of each plant.
“
They look at whether there is a beginning or an end to the emission of pollen and inform a digital interface before 12:00 p.m.
”, explains Emmanuelle Boulvert, engineer at the Public Health Department of the City of Paris.
A message is then sent around 5:00 p.m. to all subscribers to the www.alertepollens.org newsletter to allow them to start preventive treatment quickly.
Read alsoFood: will insects invade our plates?
Pollen emissions generally extend from January to October.
Depending on the year, the dates may vary depending on weather conditions.
"
The pollinarium will allow you to know exactly what pollen you are allergic to and reduce the duration of treatments
", emphasizes Emmanuelle Boulvert.
For Anne Souyris, assistant to the town hall of Paris in charge of Health, the objective is above all to help Parisians to treat themselves preventively to reduce the symptoms.
“
We already have 30% of allergic adults today in France.
We know that we risk reaching 50% in 2050 and the objective is to reverse this trend
, ”she pleads.
In Paris, air pollution linked to road traffic, a major factor in allergies, multiplies the effect of allergies due to plant essences.
“
It is very important to act on these two factors, in particular near the ring road where we have 11% more children who are asthmatic
”, specifies the elected official.
Climate change also makes the arrival of pollen earlier.
“
We have longer episodes and higher pollen loads
,” emphasizes Marie Gantois, from the Paris Green Spaces Department.
There are sixteen pollinariums in France, all in the west of France with the exception of Paris, the latest.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/BBBPQ6SMUZFU3DURZG66IXKRFI.jpg)
