Air pollution

Air pollution has become a major environmental issue for both developed and developing

countries and one of the most useful and up to date approaches for characterizing atmospheric

pollution is the air quality index (AQI). Air quality index (AQI) is a numerical scale or basically a

number that is used to communicate to the public how clean or polluted the air is. It is an index

developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) for reporting daily air quality.

In simple terms it is an index for reporting the daily quality of air. Air quality index measures

particles and chemicals in the air that affect people's health. Clean air is considered to be a

basic requirement of human health and well-being in terms of social life and economic

productivity. However, air pollution continues to pose a significant threat to health worldwide

with places like China having severe effects of pollutants. These effects can range from slight

irritations, to reduced endurance, to respiratory problems. Air pollution has attracted increasing

attention around the world. Several researchers have studied the comparability of air pollutant

indexes and the assessment of air quality. A Cornell University study showed that for every 10

µg/m3 decrease in the concentration of particles smaller than 2.5 µm (PM 2.5) in China, national

medical expenditures would decrease by US$42 billion, which amounted to a 7% increase of

China’s total medical expenditure in 2015 [1.]. Pollution led to the decrease in the well-being, as

it forces us to reduce outdoor activities on smoggy days and increase spending on protective

equipment, such as masks and air purifiers. Air pollution has affected the economic production

activities such as agriculture, transportation, tourism, and other industries leading to significant

economic losses.
Pollution is becoming a serious problem especially in countries such as Saudi Arabia. Therefore,

the prevention and control of air condition in some parts of the country has become one of the

most important it faces as a nation. In accordance with the World Health Organization’s

guideline, the quality of air in Saudi Arabia is considered to be unsafe where the latest data

indicates that the country’s annual average concentration of PM2.5 is 88 µg/m3, and this

considerably exceeds the recommended maximum of 10 µg/m3. The studied air pollutants by

the meteorological station in the Eastern Province of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia included the

Ozone (O3), Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen dioxide

(NO2) and Sulfur dioxide (SO2) with the ozone having it concentration increased since 2019 at a

rate ranging between 6.3 to 45%. Rapid industrialization in the Eastern Province in the Kingdom

of Saudi Arabia is a potential contributor to air pollution [4]. Measured particulate emissions

levels revealed significant levels of PM10 and PM2.5 and this might be due to the extensive use

of gasoline as a primary fuel source in all types of vehicles as it contains much Sulphur in its .

These vehicles constituted from 20 to 21 % of global burden of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and

Particulate Matter (PM) emissions respectively in 201023. Carbon Monoxide concentration has

increased due to traffic congestion and NO2 concentration also is high in concentration level.

This level significantly differences between weekdays and weekends (p>0.05) because of traffic

volume. The process of oil extraction adds to the poor air quality through the emission of large

volumes of carbon dioxide.

With the technological advancements, vast amount of data on ambient air quality is generated

and used to establish the quality of air. One way to describe air quality is to report the

concentrations of all pollutants with acceptable levels or standards. As the number of sampling
stations and pollution parameters increase, such descriptions of air quality tend to become

confusing even for the scientific and technical community. According to EPA, AQI ranges from 0

to 500, and is divided into six levels of health concern or categories: good which ranges

between 0 and 50, moderate ranging between 51 and 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups

ranging between 101 and 150, unhealthy ranging between 151 and 200, very unhealthy ranging

between 201 and 300, and lastly hazardous which is over 300. In this project we are designing a

calculator that will determine the Air Quality Index for the data measured by the Air Quality

Monitoring Station at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University and translate the complex

scientific and medical information into simple and precise knowledge. The proper calculation

and reporting AQI can improve public health protection.

A number of methods were developed in the past by various researchers/environmental

agencies for determination of AQI or API but there is no universally accepted method exists,

which is appropriate for all situations. Most of the AQI or API indices can be broadly classify as

single pollutant index or multi-pollutant index with different aggregation method. Every

indexing method has its own characteristic strengths and weaknesses that affect its suitability

for particular applications.

To calculate the AQI we use the data provide on the mentioned criteria air pollutants which

include the level-ground Ozone (O3), Particulate matter PM2.5 with 2.5 micrometer diameter

or smaller; examples are ash, smoke and smog, PM10 with a diameter of 10-15 micrometer

diameter; example include pollen, mold and dust (In Saudi Arabia naturally occurring dust

storms plays a primary role in causing air pollution), Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen dioxide

(NO2) and Sulfur dioxide (SO2).

In this paper, a methodology for developing a methodology for calculating air quality index

(AQI) for the Eastern Province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is multi-pollutant index

presented. This index is a national air quality rating system based on the national ambient air

quality standards hence the methodology applied in the calculation of this index can be applied

for any country with replacing specific standards. The designed calculator will prompts the user

for sensor data from the location, calculates the AQI location, and then reports some summary

statistics about the location.

In the design following criteria is used:

1. The methodology is readily understandable by the public.

2. The major criteria pollutants and their synergisms are included.

3. be expandable for other pollutants and averaging times.

4. Related my methodology to the National Ambient Air Quality standards used in the province.

8. Obtained valid air quality data from monitoring stations.

REFERENCE

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