Climate change and the environment launch a national electronic platform for monitoring air quality

The Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Dr. Abdullah bin Muhammad Belhaif Al Nuaimi, today witnessed the launch of the first national electronic platform for monitoring air quality in the UAE, in the presence of the Counselor at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Center of Meteorology Faris Muhammad Al Mazrouei, Director of the National Center of Meteorology, Chairman of the Federation Asian Meteorologist Dr. Abdullah Al Mandoos, Secretary-General of the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi Dr. Sheikha Salem Al Dhaheri, and Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Dr. Nawal Khalifa Al Hosani, as part of an official event held on this occasion at the headquarters of the National Center of Meteorology in the capital Abu Dhabi .

The launch of the platform coincides with the world's celebration of the International Day of Air Freshness for a Blue Sky under the slogan "Clean Air for All." According to the official website of the United Nations event, it aims to build a global community of action that encourages cooperation at the national, regional and international levels.

It also calls on countries to join efforts to tackle air pollution and provide clean air for all, along with governments, companies, civil society institutions and individuals to take action to reduce air pollution and make a transformational change in our lifestyles.

Air quality is one of the top priority issues in the UAE due to its health, economic and environmental implications, as the country pays special attention to it, which has been evident in its position as one of the goals of the UAE Vision 2021 and its national agenda by targeting raising air quality levels from their current rate to 90% by next year. 2021.

The platform that was launched comes within the framework of national trends, as it represents an official and central reference for the state of air quality in the country. It also ensures easy access to air quality information for all members of society, in addition to making use of this information by multiple sectors, including the health and academic sectors.

On this occasion, Dr. Abdullah bin Muhammad Belhaif Al-Nuaimi said: “The United Nations’s adoption of an International Day of Air Freshness reflects the growing global interest in human health, environmental protection and the strengthening of cooperation aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change. These are all major goals that the wise leadership has emphasized and adopted by the UAE government for years. And it has worked to achieve it through many pioneering projects and initiatives that guarantee the continuity of the sustainable development of our country during the coming decades. "

Belhaif Al-Nuaimi added: “The launch of the first national electronic platform for monitoring air quality is an important step to enable specialists and academics to study a range of factors such as the desert environment, industrial progress, population density and others that affect air quality, as the platform reviews the state of air quality in the country on a daily basis through information. It received from 31 measuring stations distributed in various Emirates, which will help in a better understanding of the impacts on air quality and contribute to preserving the health of citizens and residents in particular, and our national environment in general.

He emphasized that the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment focuses on improving national air quality indicators in coordination and partnership with all concerned parties in the various emirates of the country by preparing technical studies and implementing best practices for air quality management and developing joint plans and initiatives with those parties aimed at improving ambient air quality in an effort to achieve Targets of the National Agenda for the UAE Vision 2021.

He appreciated the important role played by Emirati cadres in government agencies participating in the establishment of the platform, and praised the continuous support provided by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs to develop institutional performance and raise the competitiveness of the UAE in the field of air quality.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment aimed by establishing the platform to enhance cooperation between all concerned parties in the country in monitoring air quality and coordinating among them through a central platform that includes an advanced air quality database and activating the electronic link between all ambient air quality monitoring stations in the country, in addition to adopting A unified mechanism for reporting data from all monitoring stations in order to calculate the air quality index and the PM concentration index in the country.

The Ministry also coordinates and cooperates with various partners to develop awareness campaigns nationwide with the aim of showing the dangers of air pollutants on public health and encouraging society to implement programs and projects that reduce pollutant concentrations and emissions and encourage environmentally friendly practices that positively affect air quality. The Ministry provides technical support and devotes the principle Exchanging experiences and transferring knowledge in related fields between all parties.

For his part, Director of the National Center of Meteorology and President of the Asian Meteorological Union, Dr. Abdullah Al-Mandoos, stressed that monitoring air quality in the UAE is one of the priorities that the wise leadership has given it of utmost importance, due to the great impact this issue has on human health and the environment in which he lives.

He said: “We are pleased to cooperate with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi and the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah in establishing the first electronic national platform for the state of air quality in the UAE, as the National Center of Meteorology played a pivotal role in this promising project through the implementation of this specialized electronic network. The center has assigned a team of specialists to follow up and review the data received from its air quality monitoring network, which consists of 11 stations on an ongoing basis, and the platform provides all community members with the necessary information that enables them to avoid areas with high pollution rates, especially groups that suffer Of health problems or the elderly and children. "

For her part, Secretary-General of the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, Dr. Sheikha Salem Al Dhaheri, emphasized the importance of the national electronic platform in enhancing the efforts made by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and its strategic partners, noting that the existence of an electronic platform will undoubtedly contribute to collecting real-time data on air pollutants. It will contribute to making informed decisions and setting policies on air pollution controls and evaluating the effectiveness of measures taken to improve or maintain air quality as well as provide information to the public on air quality so that they can learn about the air quality in their surrounding area and make appropriate decisions regarding exposure to different levels of air quality. And have better control over the factors that affect their health.

Her Excellency indicated that over the years, the authority has developed one of the best and most comprehensive air quality monitoring networks in the Arab Gulf region, as this network provides the Emirate of Abu Dhabi with a comprehensive and accurate picture of air quality. Since 2007, the authority has been operating and maintaining a network of twenty fixed stations and two stations. Two movers for monitoring air quality.

Using this network, detailed data are collected about the concentration levels of each pollutant in the emirate, enabling the authority to develop sustainable strategies for managing and improving air quality.

She emphasized that the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi is sharing the emirate's air quality network data with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, which will feed the new electronic air quality platform with data, explaining that the launch of this national platform will enhance the exchange and access to data from all Emirates in order to achieve the UAE Vision 2021 and its national agenda .

In turn, the head of the Environment and Natural Reserves Authority in Sharjah, Saif Al Suwaidi, said that the national electronic platform for monitoring air quality keeps pace with the requirements of sustainable development and preserving the environment by monitoring air quality in the country through real-time data for all stations that include indicators, measurement and concentration of pollutants in the air.

Hana Al Suwaidi added that the Sharjah Environment and Natural Reserves Authority, in implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and support and follow-up of the Sharjah Executive Council, has established a Sharjah network to monitor air quality and monitor activities that harm the environment to reduce its effects. By monitoring 12 variables on weather and air, using high-precision measuring devices, which comes within the framework of the authority's strategy to develop work in the field of environmental protection, and to monitor and control activities that harm and pollute the environment and limit its effects, with the aim of achieving the security and safety of the individual and society.

The platform displays the state of air quality in the country in real time through the Air Quality Index, which is a simplified representation of the data to determine the air quality at each station across the Emirates, as the calculations for the Air Quality Index (AQI) are based on measurements of five main nitrogen pollutants, which are: (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ground ozone (O3), particles with a diameter less than 10 microns (PM10), and sulfur dioxide (SO2).

The air quality index is divided from 0 to 500 degrees, with a score of 500 representing the highest value;

That is, more polluted air, and the lower the value, it indicates cleaner air, as it is known as a daily indicator that displays the air quality in the UAE, as air quality is monitored by high-quality stations, and these stations cover various residential, industrial and rural areas of the country, in addition to Areas near major roads.

It is noteworthy that the national platform for monitoring air quality is now available to the general public via the link 

on the official website of the National Center of Meteorology. Air quality in certain areas and they will be able to know the health level in those areas based on the air quality within specific color connotations: “green” which indicates that the air quality is suitable for exercising and enjoying outdoor activities for all groups, and “yellow” which indicates The air quality is acceptable for most residents, but it gives an uncomfortable feeling to very sensitive groups when exerting extra effort or exercising in the open air, and "orange", which indicates that air quality may affect this range on sensitive groups in the event of exercise or exertion An outdoor effort, but the effect is slight when walking or sitting only, and healthy people do not face any effect, and "red" indicates that air quality may affect healthy people if they exercise or exert an effort outdoors, and the effect increases Health here for sensitive groups

And, in turn, the color "violet" indicates that air quality has a health effect on sensitive groups and can affect healthy people if they are outside for long periods. It is advised to avoid outdoor activities, while the color "burgundy" indicates that the air quality has Health impact on most segments of the population, and in this case it is advised to stay indoors and avoid being outdoors for long periods.

After the launch, the project will go through other development stages that will contribute to raising awareness about air quality, as satellite images will be used to monitor dust and its movement, in addition to developing models related to air quality.

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