The Department of Environment has introduced an application, which with a few taps in real time, provides daily air quality data weather forecasts.
Available on Android and iOS, the widget can be downloaded from the department's website (DOE.ir). It provides data gathered by local air monitoring stations in 31 provinces and delivers reports directly to users, IRNA reported.
According to Shina Ansari, director of the DOE's environmental monitoring office, by using the application people can view the data app in charts and graphs.
"Data can be categorized by each province, the monitoring stations across the country and by the polluting parameters determining the Air Quality Index," she added.
With the app, people living in polluted metropolises, who are oversensitive to air quality, can plan their outdoor activities accordingly.
Based on Air Quality Index, conditions are categorized into six health levels, namely Clean (0-50), Healthy (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300) and Hazardous (301- 500).
The AQI is calculated using measurements of the average density of the chemical ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), and particles smaller than 10 micrometers (PM10).
Air pollution is arguably one of the most important concerns around the world and has a serious impact on human health and the environment. To address the growing challenges, smart systems and applications have been launched around the globe, designed to forecast and monitor outdoor and indoor air quality.
According to a report published by Tehran Air Quality Control Company, Tehran with its notorious air quality had only 22 days of 'good' air quality during the previous fiscal that ended in March. The metropolis was for eight days 'unhealthy', and for 127 days 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' during the period.
According to the World Health Organization and Iran’s Health Ministry, air pollution in Iran’s megacities is linked to more than 80,000 premature deaths annually.
An online system for monitoring air quality in 24 stations was launched by the DOE in April 2017.
People can also check air quality through the following websites: aqicn.org and aqms.doe.ir.
