Thunderstorm asthma warning as peak risk season begins

Victorians are being urged to be prepared as the state enters the peak risk period for thunderstorm asthma.

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said residents who suffer from asthma and hay fever should book in an appointment with their general practitioners to discuss a plan.

“Talk to your GP to make sure you have the medications you need to support both the management and treatment of asthma and hay fever during this time,” Thomas said

Thunderstorm asthma season runs from October 1 to December 31 each year.

To help assess the risks, residents in the state have access to a forecast system on the VicEmergency app and website.

“This is a three-day rolling forecast of the severity of thunderstorm asthma risk at any given time,” Thomas said.

“On days of high risk, it’s really important that those people who are most at risk stay indoors.

“That’s the safest way to make sure that you can decrease the risk of a thunderstorm asthma event.”

Forecasts are not a formal warning and are designed to inform people at risk that they should be prepared, according to Victoria Health.

“The forecast only indicates whether the chance of an epidemic thunderstorm asthma event occurring is increased,” the health department said.

“A higher forecast does not mean that an event is certain to happen, nor does a lower forecast mean that an event will not happen.”

Thomas said the awareness campaign was prompted by the devastating impact of the 2016 thunderstorm asthma event in Victoria, where 10 people lost their lives and “many thousands more experienced significant breathing difficulties”.

”We have learnt a lot of lessons since then,” Thomas said.

“I want to assure all Victorians that both our ambulance and hospital services are well-placed to respond to any spike in demand that we might see should we have a thunderstorm asthma event here in the state.”