Noida gets its first automatic air ambient monitoring system

The city got its first automatic air ambient monitoring system providing real time air quality data based on 12 parameters today.
The Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) unit was installed by Ecotech, Australia in association with Envirotech, which is funded by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB).
The unit was showcased at Amity University here.
The city has around 8,000 industrial units, six sewage treatment plants and hundreds of under-construction realty projects, which are major causes of pollution.
Until now, there was no facility to get real time automatic updates on air pollution in the city as there were only two manual systems.

"The CAAQMS unit will continuously display the pollution levels which will be shared with UPPCB. The system will provide real time air quality data based on 12 parameters, including particulate matter, NO2, SO2 and CO2 levels, and the air quality index," an official said.
Presenting a talk on'Air Pollution due to road transportation and its mitigation' here, Anuradha Shukla, chief scientist, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) said, "Owing to rapid population growth and urbanisation, there has been a manifold increase in number of vehicles, which are one of the major contributors of air pollution.
"The concentration of vehicular pollution is typically 5 to 10 times higher than ambient air, thus causing severe health implications. Urban air pollution is the 13th largest cause of deaths worldwide. As per a new study, India's worsening air pollution caused over 1.1 million premature deaths in 2015," she said.