Scientists of the Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS  have launched an online air quality monitoring system, which publishes operational information on the level of air pollution in the current weather conditions. The system relies on certified and calibrated automatic monitoring stations distributed throughout the city. They record the characteristics of the atmosphere and transmit this information through a cellular network to a centralized database. On a specially created site, anyone can get acquainted with the latest information about the air condition in the city. http://air.krasn.ru/map.html.
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Air pollution is one of the main problems of large cities. It is especially acute in Krasnoyarsk, where a high level of smoke is often observed. In 2019, the World Health Organization has considered atmospheric pollution to be the most serious environmental threat to human health.

Scientists at the Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center” SB RAS created a system for collecting and presenting environmental data based on automated monitoring stations located in different parts of the city. Today a little more than 20 stations are operating, their number will increase in the near future. Each station measures such weather indicators as temperature and humidity, pressure, as well as the concentration of fine suspended solid particles less than 10 and 2.5 micrometers in diameter. It is this fine dust that makes a great contribution to air pollution and poses a threat to human health. The monitoring stations transmit the collected information to the database of the scientific center, where the obtained data are processed and analyzed.

The system collects information for scientific purposes, but anyone can learn about the air condition in the areas of Krasnoyarsk on a specially created site. There are two options for displaying information: a table with current data from monitoring stations or a map with values averaged over 1 hour. On the city map, you can see all the established stations and select the information display mode. The relevant section indicates the color values of the air quality index scale and how different levels of air pollution affect human health.

“Today, devices for measuring the concentration of dust in the air can be purchased relatively cheap. Our experiments with such devices confirm that, in general, they show data comparable with those of the reference equipment, although with some peculiarities. In particular, we found that the results obtained can adequately reflect the trends in concentration changes, but underestimate or overestimate the absolute values by two or more times. These problems are solved by calibrating the instruments used. For these reasons, in our system we use equipment certified by Rosstandart, we conduct a continuous assessment of our measurements according to the regional institutional system of the Ministry of Ecology of the Region. We tested different operating modes and locations of monitoring stations to make sure that the results are independent of subjective or random factors, ”says Oleg Yakubaylik, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, head of the laboratory of space systems and technologies at the Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS.

The scientist also notes that all measurements will be added the information base to be used for scientific research and practical development to improve the environmental situation in the city. The created network will allow recording and analyzing the spatio-temporal distribution of pollution in the city. The creation of such a system is the first and necessary step to solve the problems with air quality in Krasnoyarsk.