From MASK-air® and SILAM to CATALYSE (Climate Action to Advance HeaLthY Societies in Europe)

Sousa-Pinto B, Palamarchuk Y, Leemann L et al. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2023 Jul 26:0. doi: 10.18176/jiaci.0923. 

Abstract:

Taylor diagram of air quality predictions by CAMS models.

Plant species vary under different climate conditions and the distribution of pollen in the air and their trends can be used to assess the impact of climate change on public health. In 2015, MASK-air® (Mobile Airways Sentinel networK for rhinitis and asthma) was launched as a project of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-on-AHA, DG Santé and DG CONNECT). This project aimed to develop a warning system to inform patients about the pollen season onset. SILAM (System for Integrated modeLling of Atmospheric composition), a global-to-meso-scale dispersion model was developed by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI). It provides quantitative information on atmospheric pollution of anthropogenic and natural origins, particularly on allergenic pollens. POLLAR (Impact of Air Pollution on Asthma and Rhinitis, EIT Health) has combined MASK-air clinical data with SILAM forecasts.

A new Horizon Europe grant, CATALYSE (Climate Action to Advance HeaLthY Societies in Europe; grant agreement number 101057131), which started in September 2022, aims at better understanding climate change and finding ways to counteract it. One objectives of this project is to develop early warning systems and predictive models to improve the effectiveness of adaptation strategies to climate change. One of warning system is focused on allergic rhinitis (CATALYSE Task 3.2). with a collaboration between the FMI (Finland), Porto University (Portugal), MASK-air SAS (France), ISGlobal (Spain), Hertie School (Germany) and the University of Zurich (Switzerland). It is to be implemented with the support of EAACI. This paper reports the planning of CATALYSE Task 3.2.

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