24


Air Monitoring


A New Era in Air Quality Monitoring in China


The majority of people living in Asian cities are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution every day. Seven out of 10 cities in developing Asian countries have unhealthy levels of air pollution, when measured as annual levels of particulate matter with size range of not greater than 10 microns (PM10).1


The haze episodes have occurred frequently over the past years in


developing Asian cities. In China’s case, according to statistics from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), cities in Jing-Jin-Ji, Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Pearl River


Delta (PRD) suffered over 100 haze days in the past three years, with PM2.5 concentration two to four times above the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines levels2


. These episodes


have been a cause of strong public concern because of potentially negative health impacts. Recent estimates from the 2010 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) found that outdoor air pollution is a much more significant public health risk than previously known–contributing annually to 2.1 million premature deaths in Asia.3


For the first time, outdoor air pollution is among the top 10 risks worldwide and among the top five or six risks in the developing countries of Asia.


In 2012-2013, Clean Air Asia together with Hong Kong Polytechnic University implemented a project on Air Quality Interventions: Improving Air Quality Monitoring Systems in Asian Cities. This work was supported by the Asian Development Bank.


Understanding the status of air quality is an important component of air quality management. This requires setting up and implementing appropriate air quality monitoring systems. However, there are several challenges with air quality monitoring in Asian cities. First, monitoring systems in several cities in developing Asia have a limited scope–either in terms of number of stations or pollutants covered. Secondly, data quality remains a concern with limited technical capacity, unclear monitoring, siting guidelines, quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) procedures. Another issue is the lack of linkages between the monitoring data and implementation and monitoring for effectiveness of air pollution control measures and policies. Finally, sustainability of the air quality monitoring systems is a perennial challenge especially with budget constraints.


Clean Air Asia and its partners developed five essential characteristics for a good air quality monitoring system for Asian cities.4


This builds


on international guidelines and good practices and experiences in Asian cities and countries. These include the:


1) Ability to properly plan and implement an AQ monitoring network to a compatible international standard


Author Details:


Wei Wan & Kaye Patdu, Clean Air Asia


901A Reignwood Building, No. 8 YongAnDongLi Jianguomenwai Avenue, Beijing 100022,CHINA


Tel: +86 10 8528 8381 Email: wei.wan@cleanairasia.org Web: www.cleanairasia.org


2) Ability to plan and implement a QA/QC process


3) Ability to disseminate AQ monitoring data and analytical results to stakeholders


4) Ability to utilise the AQ monitoring results to improve AQ control policy


5) Ability to provide manpower and financial resources to sustain the AQ monitoring system


Figure 1: 113 Key Environmental Protection Cities in China Source: MEP Data Center, 2008


AET August / September 2013 www.envirotech-online.com


Achieving each of these characteristics is critical in any air quality monitoring system. China is one country which has undergone major developments in air quality monitoring in recent years. It is interesting to assess where China is at in terms of these characterictics and whether there are areas for improvement.


Development and Current Status of Air Quality Monitoring in China


In the last four decades, China has established a comprehensive air quality monitoring system based on the urban air quality monitoring network. China started monitoring air quality in a few cities in the 1970s and set up an initial national monitoring system in the 1980s5


.


In 2000, daily Air Pollution Index (API) based on SO2, NO2 and PM10 monitoring data was introduced to assess the air quality in 42 cities.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44