The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality.
It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you.
The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air.
AQI is calculated for eight major air pollutants: Ground-level ozone, PM10, PM2.5, Carbon monoxide, Sulphur dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide, Ammonia, Lead.
There are six AQI categories, namely Good + Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe.
About SAFAR
The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) is an initiative introduced by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
The system is indigenously developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and is operationalized by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The giant true colour LED display gives out real-time air quality index on a 24×7 basis with colour coding along with a 72-hour advance forecast.
The system will be an integral part of India’s first Air Quality Early Warning System operational in Delhi.
SAFAR will accelerate public awareness and preparedness of air pollution and weather extremes.
It will also lead to a better understanding of linkages among emissions, weather, pollution and climate. It will monitor all weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind speed and wind direction.
In addition to regular air quality parameters like PM2.5, PM10, Sulphur Dioxide, Ozone, Nitrogen Oxides, Carbon Monoxide, the system will also monitor the existence of Benzene, Toluene and Xylene.
SAFAR system would benefit cost savings to several other sectors like agriculture, aviation, infrastructure, disaster management skill, tourism and many others, which directly or indirectly get affected by air quality and weather.
About Air Quality Index
About SAFAR