Comparative Study Between the Effects of Autumn and Winter Rainfall on Aerobiological Variables in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula

The correlation analysis between precipitation indices and aerobiological variables could lead to different results if seasonal rainfall is considered. The number of significant correlations, as well as the ratio of positive/negative correlations, is higher when previous autumn rainfall is taken into account than for annual rainfall. However, the percentage of significant correlations is only 5.1% of the total possible correlations. The autumn indices showing more correlations are related to rainfall duration and persistence, while those for winter were related to rainfall amount and intensity. Since the influence of moderately extreme rainfall seems to be low, the reported probable increase, due to climate change, of the occurrence of intense and short rainy events in the Mediterranean area in autumn does not seem that will have an appreciable effect by itself on the subsequent pollen production.