China News Service, Hohhot, August 22 (Reporter Liu Wenhua) Every year in autumn, many cities in the north will usher in a period of high incidence of pollen allergies. Symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, itchy nose, and eye discomfort affect the daily life of many people.
In recent years, the pollen monitoring and early warning system has been continuously improved, and the public can know the changes in pollen concentration in advance and understand which periods and areas are at higher risk. Of course, these measures have positive effects, but it must be noted that forecasting solves "when risks are higher" and governance solves "why risks exist for a long time." The two cannot be confused, nor can "health risks have been warned" be equated with "health problems have been resolved."
If the city's main approach to dealing with pollen allergy is to remind residents to "go out less, wear a mask, and take medication in advance," it actually only helps the public avoid risks and does not reduce the risks themselves. Personal protection is an important way to deal with allergies, but it should not be the only solution to public environmental problems. People with allergies cannot be allowed to bear the long-term costs of buying medicines, purchasing protective equipment, and reducing outdoor activities, while allergens in urban environments continue to exist year after year.
Allergic rhinitis is not a simple "little problem". Persistent nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing will affect sleep, study, and work, and some patients may also develop conjunctivitis, asthma, and other problems. When a health problem occurs repeatedly and affects a large number of people, it is necessary to find solutions to urban governance beyond individual responses.
In recent years, Hohhot, Baotou, Ordos and other places have carried out pollen monitoring, allergenic plant investigation and cleanup work, which is an active exploration. However, allergen control cannot only rely on concentrated actions during the allergy season, nor can we just treat the areas where problems are easily found.
Pollen transmission has a certain range, and major allergenic plants such as wormwood may be distributed in urban green spaces, both sides of roads, river slopes, suburban wastelands, idle plots and other areas. If urban parks are cleared but large numbers of allergenic plants remain in other areas, treatment effectiveness will still be compromised.
Truly effective governance should be more systematic and planned. First of all, it is necessary to understand the distribution of allergenic plants and form dynamically updated basic information; secondly, it is necessary to arrange the treatment time according to the growth patterns of plants, try to deal with it before flowering and loose pollen, and do the work before the pollen season; at the same time, it is necessary to clarify the management responsibilities of different areas such as residential areas, public green spaces, and urban-suburban junctions to reduce blind spots in treatment.
Governance methods also need to be more scientific. Removing allergenic plants is not a simple matter of “pulling them out.” Which plants are more allergenic, which areas have a greater impact on residents, and whether manual removal, mechanical operations, or other measures are adopted should be scientifically evaluated. It is necessary to reduce allergens and avoid damaging the original ecology.
Governance still needs to continue to advance. Some allergenic plants have strong vitality and may still regenerate after a single cleaning. If you wait until the pollen peak arrives every year before taking action, you will often only achieve short-term results. Inspections, clean-ups, regreening and pollen monitoring should be integrated into daily urban management, rather than waiting until sneezing breaks out before organizing ad hoc actions.
To measure the effectiveness of governance, we should not just look at how many plants were removed and how much manpower was invested, but also whether the pollen concentration dropped and whether the impact on residents was reduced. The effectiveness of governance will ultimately be reflected in the actual feelings of residents.
Urban construction is not only the increase of roads, buildings and green areas, but more importantly, the continuous improvement of residents’ quality of life. The core of urban development is to serve the people living in it. Incorporating residents' health needs into urban management and taking people's feelings as an important criterion for testing the effectiveness of governance is the direction that urban development should take.
