The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a standardized tool used to communicate the quality of air in a specific area. It provides a clear, easy-to-understand way to inform the public about daily air quality and its potential health effects. The AQI ranges from 0 to 500, where lower values indicate better air quality and higher values signal worse air quality.
Understanding the AQI Scale:
- 0-15: Excellent Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
- 15-50: Good: Air quality is acceptable; however, some pollutants may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
- 50-100: Moderate: Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.
- 100-200: Poor: Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
- 200-500: Unhealthy: Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects.
The AQI focuses on health effects that you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. It includes major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
How is the AQI Calculated?
The AQI for each pollutant is calculated based on its concentration in the air. The pollutant with the highest AQI value determines the overall AQI for that day. Here's a simplified process:
- Measure Pollutant Concentrations: Use air quality sensors to measure levels of pollutants.
- Convert to AQI Values: Each pollutant's concentration is converted to an AQI value using specific formulas.
- Determine Overall AQI: The highest AQI value among the pollutants is the overall AQI for that day.
Understanding the AQI helps individuals make informed decisions about their activities, especially those sensitive to air quality changes. Monitoring the AQI can help mitigate exposure to harmful air pollutants.
