Air Quality Index (AQI): Methodology & Applications for Public Awareness in Cities
The air quality index (AQI) is an "index" determined by calculating the degree of pollution in the city (as an average) or at the monitoring point and includes five main pollutants – PM, O3, SO2, NOx, and CO. Each of these pollutants has an air quality standard which is used to calculate the overall AQI. Simultaneously, one can also establish the limiting pollutant (the most damaging of the pollutants measured) and estimate the AQI, which is represented between 0 to 500 with 0 representing good air and 500 representing hazardous air.
This paper presents the definition, a methodology, and examples across the global cities, followed by its application for public awareness in Beijing (China), Paris (France), Helsinki (Finland), and Seoul (South Korea).
