LUO Donghuang, FENG Yuxuan, LIU Yakun, et al. Morphological and Characteristic Changes of Pollen After Lightning Strikes and Its Application to Thunderstorm Asthma[J]. 2025, 51(5): 2468-2475.
LUO Donghuang, FENG Yuxuan, LIU Yakun, et al. Morphological and Characteristic Changes of Pollen After Lightning Strikes and Its Application to Thunderstorm Asthma[J]. 2025, 51(5): 2468-2475. DOI: 10.13336/j.1003-6520.hve.20241197.
Thunderstorm asthma is a respiratory allergic disease triggered by thunderstorms
which is a global climate-related health event. While its mechanism of thunderstorm asthma is not clear but mainly understood by conjectures up to date. One conjecture emphasizes the increased environmental humidity as a motivation. However
it cannot explain the fact that asthma is not significantly triggered on rainy days without lightning activities. The conjecture that pollen explodes due to lightning discharges lacks experimental verification. To this end
a simulation experiment for suspended pollens struck by lightning was designed with an observation system. Simulated lightning strike tests were carried out with pollens suspended in dry and wet conditions. Through the high-speed photography
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) measurements
the morphological and characteristic changes of pollens were analyzed after being exposed to lightning discharges. It is found that when pollens are struck by lightning
the ozone and net charges are generated. The particle sizes of pollens decrease
and the surface shapes become irregular. Pollen's wall is penetrated
and the internal substances are exposed. Additionally
carbon and oxygen elements increase on pollen surface after lightning strikes. These findings contribute to understanding the allergenic after struck by lightning in thunder day.