There are several weather related conditions that increase the risk of asthma attacks. Hospital admissions for breathing problems often increase as pollen counts rise and there have been many well-documented asthma epidemics following thunderstorms. In these cases many of those admitted were hay fever sufferers with no previous history of breathing difficulties.
A combination of thunderstorms and high pollen counts can trigger asthma. When thunderstorms develop they draw up air over a large area. If there has been a dry spell of five or more days there will be plenty of pollen lying around that will be drawn up with the air. As clouds are created ice forms around each pollen grain. The grains circulate within the cloud, going through several freeze and thaw cycles. This shatters the grains, breaking them into even smaller pieces. When it rains the shattered pollen plunges downwards. The pollen is now smaller, more concentrated and effectively more allergenic because the smaller particles can get deeper into the lungs.
Smog is also a weather related asthma trigger. Despite its name it is seldom a mixture of smoke and fog. It is the effect of heat and sunlight on...