Ambient air quality monitor in Jamshedpur

 Context :- 

The steel city and its neighbouring Adityapur, in Seraikela–Kharsawan, can now look forward to continuous monitoring of ambient air quality through PM2.5 dust sampler, an advanced machine that can measure particulate matter up to 2.5 microns. Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets in the air. It is emitted primarily by smoke-belching diesel vehicles and power plants that reduce visibility and cause the air to become hazy.

The dust samplers will monitor the ambient air quality 24/7. A special directive was also issued by both CPCB and NGT this year for monitoring the air pollution level for 14 days from November 1, before and after Diwali, which will be celebrated on November 7.

Air Quality Index :- 

• AQI is a number used to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecasted to become.
• As AQI increases, an increasingly large percentage of the population is likely to experience increasingly adverse health effects.
• Different countries have their own air quality indexes, corresponding to different national air quality standards.
• The AQI is most commonly used to describe ground-level ozone levels.
• However, the AQI can be used to represent five pollutants that pose a threat to human health.These pollutants are:

1. Ground-level Ozone or O3.
2. Particulate Matter (soot and dust) or PM.
3. Carbon Monoxide or CO.
4. Sulphur Dioxide or SO2.
5. Nitrogen Dioxide or NO2.

Method of Calculation :-

• The pollutants in the affected air are given a weight based on a formula.
• That weight depends on the kind of impact it has on human health, each of the pollutants is given a weight.
• The worst of these weights is given as a composite air quality.
• So instead of giving six different numbers, six different colours, it throws up one single colour, one single number.
• The index will throw up one number which will be given to the public.
• People will know the health of their air quality based on this number and one associated colour code.

By: Shashank Shekhar