(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Sanaullah Ataullah |The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: The choice of air pollution measurement method depends on regulatory requirements, pollutants of interest, spatial coverage, temporal resolution, and budget.
Qatar Environment and energy Research Institute (QEERI), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), operates six stations with reference-grade instruments for air quality research on the processes, drivers, and impacts of air pollution in the State of Qatar.
"The stations are spread across the Greater Doha Region - in Al Shahaniyah, Hamad Medical City, Al Thumama Stadium, American School of Doha, Al Wakra, Education City, and Qatar Academy School," said Dr. Shamjad P Moosakutty, scientist at QEERI.
In an interview with The Peninsula, he said that these stations are for strategic research in air quality and follow guidelines set by international agencies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) and European Environmental Protection Agency.
“Doha is the most populated region in Qatar, and this is why we have installed our research stations at carefully selected locations in and around the capital, covering distinct and representative locations. Each station captures information that helps us evaluate and research air quality in urban, suburban, roadside, background and coastal settings," said Moosakutty.
The Hamad Medical City station, for example, is close to a major traffic route and measures vehicle emissions, whereas the Al Thumama Stadium station is located in an urban downwind setting, making it suitable for measuring city-wide emissions. Conversely, the Al Shahaniyah station is outside city limits and acts as a background station.
Five stations have been operating since 2018, and the HMC station was commissioned in 2021. The reference grade equipment in these stations is periodically calibrated and measures the concentration of individual pollutants in real time.
For that purpose, he added: "We have advanced research instruments, which mainly operate from our Al Thumama Stadium station and, to a lesser extent, Al Shahaniyah and the American School of Doha."
The data collected by these instruments are analysed through a technique known as 'source apportionment' to identify sources of major pollutants.
Advanced instruments in Al Thumama Stadium are continuously collecting valuable pollutant chemical composition data and analysis is underway to identify the sources of pollutants.
Air pollutants show daily, weekly, and seasonal variations, and long-term measurements are important to understand these trends. Sources of pollutants can also vary accordingly.
"That's why we are focusing on multi-year, multi-location data and have started systematically collecting data since 2018, "said Moosakutty.
"Identifying the sources of pollutants is important for suggesting mitigation strategies and developing policy recommendations, " he added.
Speaking about setting up air quality research and monitoring stations on a large scale, he said that Qatar has numerous facilities by QEERI, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC), Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), and several other entities of the State of Qatar.
He also said that the MoECC has been systematically measuring air quality continuously through its stations with international reference grade equipment.
It is a challenging task to operate and calibrate multiple reference-grade instruments periodically by following international guidelines. "We need to allocate significant resources and labor for the operation of these stations," said Moosakutty.
"Each institution operates its station individually, and the data is shared with the MoECC in real-time. We need to harmonize the operation of these stations which will help to resource allocation and cover more locations within Qatar," he added .
"Further, the data from all stations needs to be analyzed by a common validation criterion to ensure data quality and utility. The overall analysis will improve our understanding of Qatar's air quality and help in policy making", said Moosakutty.
“The analysed data can also be used to develop air-quality mobile apps which can inform the public about prevailing air quality in a location and also provide warnings in case of severe pollution episodes such as sandstorms," said Moosakutty.
A comprehensive air quality monitoring plan includes reference-grade instruments, satellites, and low-cost sensors.
Satellites have large spatial coverage and help in monitoring remote areas, while low-cost sensors are research tools to identify pollution hotspots.
Data from satellites and low-cost sensors require validation using reference-grade instruments and research-based methods. Data analytics and visualisation play a vital role in communicating air pollution data to various stakeholders.
He said that the combination of these different technologies and measurement methods is very effective in terms of air pollution measurement.
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