• Augmenting Air Quality Monitoring Networks

Air Quality monitoring is not an easy task, the common mistake which anyone can do is representing city air quality based on single station value or single hour data. To provide an AQI representative of a city, single station data is not suitable. It may even mislead as it will be biased towards a particular activity or environment. As per international guidelines, the correct way to know ONE index for a city’s air quality is to consider different microenvironments. Based on scientific knowledge one should develop the methodology for the same. For a typical metro city Background; Commercial; Urban complex; Sub-urban; Residential; Industrial; Roadside; Traffic junction etc. are the microenvironments that should be covered in the monitoring network. The SAFAR observational network

of Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS) and Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) established within city limits represents selected microenvironments of the city including industrial, residential, background/ cleaner, urban complex, agricultural zones, etc. as per international guidelines which ensures the true representation of city environment. Air Quality indicators are monitored at about 3 m height from the ground with online sophisticated instruments. These instruments are operated round the clock and data is recorded and stored at every 5-minute interval for quality check and further analysis.
Pollutants monitored: PM1, PM2.5, PM10, Ozone, CO, NOx (NO, NO2), SO2, BC, Methane (CH4), Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), VOC’s, Benzene, Mercury
Monitored Meteorological Parameters: UV Radiation, Rainfall, Temperature, Humidity, Wind speed, wind direction, solar radiation