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Calculating Air Quality Index (AQI) in Reporting Ambient Air Quality

Presentation · September 2022

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11863.96165

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A. G. Piyal Aravinna
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 CENTRAL ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY BUREAU

Calculating Air Quality Index (AQI)

in Reporting
Ambient Air Quality

A.G. Piyal Aravinna

Senior Environmental Chemist
Chemical & Environmental Section
Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau
11, Jawatta Road, Colombo 00500, Sri Lanka.
Tel.: +94112505688, Fax: +94112598215,
Email : piyalaravinna@yahoo.com

1
Air Polution and Air Quality Index (AQI)
Air pollution: contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment
by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the
natural characteristics of the atmosphere (WHO)

Major Air Pollutant

• Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)
• Ground-level ozone (O3)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
Ammonia (NH3)
• Observation
• Volatile organic compounds (VOC)

2
Air Polution and Air Quality Index (AQI)
Sources of Air Pollutants

Observation

Source: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/air/sources.htm: 3
Air Quality Index (AQI)
AQI is an index used to report daily air quality using color code,
numerical values, and terminology with basic description of air
Quality .
Benefits
• Warning citizens about the dangers of air pollution
• Reducing /avoiding outdoor physical activities
• Adjusting your activity levels during the period of air pollution
• Selection of respiratory precaution
• Guide for medical precautions

Parameters used in AQI Today AQI

• Ozone (ground-level)
• Particle matter (PM10 and PM2.5)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/, visited on 2022/09/12 4

 Air Quality Indexes (AQIs) in the world

Different types of AQIs

Country Name of the index Year *

USA Air Quality Index (AQI) 1999
Canada Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) 2017
Hong Kong Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) 2013
European European Air Quality Index (EAQI) 2017
Korea Comprehensive Air-quality Index (CAI) 2018
* Year published in the website

USEPA Air Quality Index (AQI) is commonly applied AQI in the world

https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/, visited on 2022/09/12 5

USEPA Air Quality Index (AQI)
USEPA uses five most common ambient air pollutants that are
regulated under the Clean Air Act: Ground-level O3, Particulate
matter (PM10 and PM2.5), CO, SO2 and NO2.
It uses six categories to explain the daily Air Quality

Today AQI

https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/, visited on 2022/09/12: 6

USEPA Air Quality Index (AQI)

Levels of Concern and Description of Air Quality

Today AQI

https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/, visited on 2022/0912 7

USEPA Air Quality Index (AQI)
Pollutant specific Sub-indices and Levels of Concern
Levels of
Concern

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 8

USEPA Air Quality Index (AQI)

AQI colour formulas

Colour Computer (Screen) Printing
Red Green Blue Cyan Magenta Yellow Key

The colour models are based on a 0 - 255 scale (e.g. 50% is 126).

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 9

Calculating the Air Quality Index (AQI)

USEPA Method
Step 1: Level of major pollutants are truncated as follows

Pollutant Level to be truncated

Ozone (ppm) 3 decimal places
PM2.5 (μg/m3) 1 decimal place
PM10 (μg/m3) integer
CO (ppm) 1 decimal place
SO2 (ppb) integer
NO2 (ppb) integer

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 10

Calculating the Air Quality Index (AQI)
Step 2 : Finding the two breaking points (upper and lower) of the Truncated
value of the pollutant from the Table below
Table 1

Levels
of
Concern

If SO2 level is 40
ppm,
upper breaking
point is 75 ppm,
and Lower
breaking point
is 36 ppm
1 Areas are generally required to report the AQI based on 8-hour ozone values. However, there are a small number of areas where an AQI based on 1-hour ozone values would be more precautionary. In
these cases, in addition to calculating the 8-hour ozone index value, the 1-hour ozone value may be calculated, and the maximum of the two values reported.
2 8-hour O3 values do not define higher AQI values (≥ 301). AQI values of 301 or higher are calculated with 1-hour O3 concentrations.
3 If a different SHL for PM2.5 is promulgated, these numbers will change accordingly.
4 1-hour SO2 values do not define higher AQI values (≥ 200). AQI values of 200 or greater are calculated with 24-hour SO2 concentration

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 11

Calculating the Air Quality Index (AQI)
Step 3 : Calculate the index of pollutant (IP) Using the equation given below:

Levels of
Concern
Equation 1

Step 4 : Round the index to the nearest integer

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 12

Calculating AQI - Example 1
(when data available for single Parameter)
Question : Level of ozone (8-hour average) is 0.07853333 ppm. Calculate the AQI
Truncated value of the pollutant (CP) = 0.078.
Refer to the 8-hour ozone in Table 1, 0.078 is located in the range of 0.071 -0.085.
Therefore, Upper breaking points (BPHi) = 0.085 and
Lower breaking points (BPLo) = ] 0.071
Refer to the 8-hour ozone in Table 1, IAQ range correspond to (0.071-0.085) is (101 – 150)

Therefore, AQI value corresponding to BPHi (IHi) = 150 and

AQI value corresponding to BPLo (ILo) = 101
Therefore, from Equation 1,
IP =
Summery
level of Averaging truncated value
Parameter IHi ILo BPHi BPLo IP
pollutant time (CP)
O3 (ppm) 0.078 8h 0.078 150 101 0.085 0.071 126

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 13

Calculating AQI - Example 1
(when data available for single Parameter)
Expression AQI result with Colour and level of concern

Real Colour can be selected form

Microsoft office as per the colourLevels of
Concern
formulas given by the USEPA guide

AQI summery with colour code

truncated Colour and
level of Averaging
Parameter value IHi ILo BPHi BPLo IP level of
pollutant time
(CP) concern
Unhealthy
O3 (ppm) 0.078 8h 0.078 150 101 0.078 0.071 128 for Sensitive
Groups

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 14

 Calculating AQI - Example 2
(when data available for multiple Parameter)
Question: Levels of ozone (8-hour), PM2.5 and CO are 0.078 ppm, 35.9 μg/m3 and 8.4
ppm, respectively. Calculate the AQI
Therefore, using the breaking points (from the Table 1), as described in Example 1, date
can be tabulated as below
level of Averaging truncated
Parameter IHi ILo BPHi BPLo
pollutant time value (CP)
O3 (ppm) 0.078 8h 0.078 150 101 0.085 0.071
PM2.5 (μg/m3) 35.9 24 h 35.9 150 101 55.4 35.5
CO (ppm) 8.4 8h 8.4 100 51 9.4 4.5
Therefore, from Equation 1, Pollution
indexes are; IP(O3) =

IP(PM2.5) =

IP(CO) =

where index of pollutant of O3, PM2.5 and CO are, IP(O3), IP(PM2.5) and IP(CO), respectively

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 15

ation 1, the I of each parameter,
Calculating AQI - Example 2
(when data available for multiple Parameter)
Ascending order of pollution indexes as given below

IP(CO) < IP(PM2.5) < IP(O3)

Pollutant with the highest pollution index is considered to express the AQI for the given
period. Therefore, O3 is the responsible pollutant for the AQI (IP =126)and it is in the
rage of 101-150. Then the level of concern is “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”

AQI summery with colour code

level of Averaging Colour and level
Parameter IHi ILo BPHi BPLo IP of concern
pollutant time
O3 (ppm) 0.078 8h 150 101 0.085 0.071 126
Unhealthy for
PM2.5 (μg/m3) 35.9 24 h 150 101 55.4 35.5 102
Sensitive Groups
CO (ppm) 8.4 8h 100 51 9.4 4.5 90

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 16

Calculating AQI - Example 3
(AQI of a parameter at different averaging times)
Question : Levels of ozone of average of 1-hour and 8-hour are 0.1621 ppm and 0.0783
ppm , respectively. Calculate the AQI
Therefore, using the breaking points (from the Table 1), date can be tabulated as below
level of Averaging truncated
Parameter IHi ILo BPHi BPLo
pollutant time value (CP)
O3 (ppm) 0.078 8h 0.078 150 101 0.085 0.071
PM2.5 (μg/m3) 0.162 1h 0.162 150 101 0.164 0.125

Therefore, from Equation 1,

Pollution index of ozone of 1-h average, IP(O3, 1-h) =

Pollution index of ozone of 1-h average, IP(O3, 8-h) =

IP(O3, 8-h) < IP(O3, 1-h) ,

Therefore, 1-h average is responsible for the repotting the AQI (IP =148) and it is in the
rage of 101-150. Then level of concern is “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”

EPA 454/B-18-007, September 2018 17

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