Analysis of the annual pollen integral in Albuquerque, New Mexico, shows a negative trend with temperatures for Juniper, Cottonwood, Elm, and Mulberry

Abstract

The goal of this study is to determine if the annual pollen integral (APIn) for the top tree allergens in the City of Albuquerque is correlated with meteorological variables. This analysis would be the first of its kind for this area. We used 17 consecutive years from 2004 to 2020 and data collected by the city of Albuquerque using a Spore Trap (Burkard) volumetric air sampler in a location designed to represent a typical desert environment. The pollen studied include Juniper, Elm, Ash, Cottonwood, and Mulberry. We found a negative linear correlation with early summer temperatures of the previous year and APIn for Elm, Cottonwood, and Mulberry, and early fall temperatures for Juniper. Linear regression models developed for Elm, Cottonwood, and Mulberry used the monthly mean maximum temperature for the month of June of the prior year as the independent variable to yield a R squared statistic (R²) of 0.88, 0.91 and 0.78, respectively. For Juniper, the average monthly mean minimum temperature for the previous September and October served as the independent variable and yielded the R² value of 0.80. We also observed a positive trend for the annual maximum temperature over time and a negative trend for the total APIn. Summers in New Mexico are hot and dry, and they may be getting hotter and drier because of climate change. Our analysis predicts that climate change in this area may lead to reduced allergies if temperatures continue to increase and if precipitation patterns remain the same.