In 2016, the most severe thunderstorm asthma (TA) event reported in the medical literature, to date, caused approximately 14,000 people in the Melbourne, Australia area to seek emergency care for respiratory symptoms and contributed to 10 deaths. A team has developed the Victorian Grass Pollen Emission Module (VGPEM1.0) and is using it, along with other scientists, to study mechanisms that cause pollen rupturing and may be responsible for these rare TA events. Results showed several factors cause pollen rupturing including strong winds, lightning strikes and the build-up and discharge of static electricity brought on by low humidity. Surprisingly, high humidity was not a contributing factor. Improvement of the model and additional studies are planned. For now, the scientists believe the best approach for predicting TA events is to monitor for thunderstorms associated with severe wind gusts while also tracking levels of unburst grass pollen in the air.