Thursday, March 03, 2016

Improving Air Quality Monitoring in China

@ ECNS

Beijing currently has 35 air quality monitoring stations, which measure major airborne pollutants including PM2.5 - particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microns that is hazardous to health - and sulfur dioxide. 

"We usually replace the core filter membranes at most every two weeks to guarantee the accuracy of measuring," Jiang said, adding that during severe smoggy days they replace them more frequently. Using the real-time data, the center releases an hourly air quality index to the public. The municipal government will use the information to coordinate response efforts, including issuing red alerts, the highest emergency response.

1 comment:

Eureka23 said...

Hi Eureka23 - thanks for posting the information on air quality monitoring in China. Distributing environmental information around the world to educate the public is a big step in helping tackle the problem. People need to be aware of it first. I'm from the US and travel quite frequently to Asia including China and Southeast Asia, where I see a lot of air pollution. Have you heard of an iOS app called Air Bubbles? I actually developed it with a few friends from college, and we want to disseminate (for free) air quality info around the world. We currently have 5,000 stations including in the US, China, and India.

If you have time please check it out and let me know what you think!
http://apple.co/1X5YtEf

Thanks!
Ray