Format: ORAL

B. Clot1, B. Crouzy1, S. Erb1, G. Lieberherr1, F. Tummon1, R. Pérez-Badia2 and the EUMETNET AutoPollen community

1 University of Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain 2 Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Payerne, 1530, Switzerland

Between 20-30% of the European population suffers from pollen allergy, resulting in costs ranging from 50-150 billion per year. For decades, airborne pollen has been monitored using manual methods with counting being done by hand under the microscope and results reported as daily average values from 3-9 days after the measurement. New technologies developed over the past years are revolutionising this field. Combining artificial intelligence with advanced measurement methods, several devices are now available on the market that provide real-time observations of pollen as well as a considerable potential to detect and identify a range of other airborne particles. The EUMETNET AutoPollen Programme has been established in 2018 to take full advantage of the large potential for progress that automatic observations provide. It brings together a consortium from across Europe with the multidisciplinary expertise needed to address the challenges along the entire information chain from the initial observation through to the final products and services co-designed with end users. As an example, the SwissPollen network, operated by MeteoSwiss, comprises 15 monitoring stations and since the beginning of 2023 provides hourly information in real-time through its website and smartphone app. Furthermore, the real-time observations are integrated into the COSMO-ART model to provide forecasts to end-users.