Air quality

▼This is a topic page.

Appropedia's focus is on original research, but this page provides useful context and helps navigate the site. You can help Appropedia by improving this page.

Air quality refers to the presence or absence of air pollution. The presence of substances such as particulates or acid gases (which cause acid rain), or toxins such as dioxin can harm the health of humans and other organisms. Air pollution from human sources has increased greatly in recent centuries; however air quality can also be influenced by the release of these substances from natural sources such as forest fires and volcanoes.

Air quality can be measured by simple physical and chemical methods though these are rapidly being replaced by more sophisticated techniques that use electronics. .

Air Quality, especially PM2.5, that is small particulates that enter human lungs and are associated with other health problems after the pollutant enters the lungs. The most significant sources of these kinds of combustion during industrial processes, transportation and burning waste and wildfires -- for example, when the Indian City of Bengaluru shut down because of COVID, reductions of motor vehicle combustion and closing of kilns, industry and slowing of burning waste.^[1] Workplace pollutants are an important source of air quality impacts as well, for example garment workers.^[2] Studies, such as in Bagkok^[3] consistently find that underprivileged and vulnerable communities suffer most. For example, several studies in Canada found that childhood asthma is deeply tied to air pollution, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels.^[4]

Indoor air quality also significantly effects indoor workers: low circulation of air, and emissions of Volitile Organic Compounds can significantly harm worker productivity.^[5]

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is an indicator of air quality which is previously used to measure Ontario's air quality. The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) replaced the AQI on June 24, 2015. The AQI is based on air pollutants that have adverse effects on human health and the environment.

AQI (Air Quality Index) number is calculated from 6 key pollutants. While this is true, the AQI formula itself does not use all 6 pollutants in one equation. Rather, each of the 6 pollutants has both a concentration and AQI value. The pollutant with the highest AQI level, or 'risk to health', is deemed the "main pollutant" and that pollutant's AQI determines the overall AQI number across all the included pollutants.

AQI is calculated by using the following formula:

Ip = [(Ihi-Ilow)/(BPhi-BPlow)] (Cp-BPlow)+Ilow,

Where Ip is the index of the pollutant; Cp is the rounded concentration of pollutant p; BPhi is the breakpoint greater or equal to Cp; BPlow is the breakpoint less than or equal to Cp; Ihi is the AQI corresponding to BPhi; Ilow is the AQI corresponding to BPlow.

A network of nonprofit organizations runs monitors and open data tracking of air quality throughout parts of the world without formal tracking strategies: https://openaq.org/

• Solar Powered Environmental Monitoring Kit- Hackster
• Smart Citizen Kit
• Open Environmental Data
• Bucket Air Monitor — Public Lab
• Simple Air Sensor — Public Lab

• Small box fan filters can be used to improve Indoor air quality such as:
  • 535 DCH DIY air filter
  • 535 FiltAirs DIY air filter
• Reducing pollution from cook stoves with Improved cook stoves can help, such as the Rocket stove^[6]
• Wearing face masks that filter fine particulates

• Air pollution
• Indoor air pollution
• Greenhouse gas emissions
• OpenClimate
• Environment quality activism
• China's Air Quality circa 2013
• Ventilation