Continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations to be set up in Hyderabad

With air pollution exacerbating the civic issues due to inhalation of hazardous material released from the smoke of vehicles, requirement of air quality monitoring became the need in the hour.

In a major development to improve air pollution monitoring in the city, the TS Pollution Control Board (TSPCB), has floated tenders to install seven more Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS). The TSPCB has allocated Rs 7 crore for the purpose to establish the stations.

The systems are to be installed in the eastern portion of the city. Currently, six systems were installed in the city at Bolaram, UoH, Icrisat, IDA Pashamylaram, Sanathnagar, and Nehru Zoological Park to curb the air pollution.

Having more CAAQMSs would be beneficial for the city, as the monitoring of the air quality would be continuous and automatic. No scientist would have to decipher the readings from the manual monitoring stations,” a representative from the TSPCB stated. Site visits are being made by the officials to decide upon the places to install seven more monitoring systems as per the guidelines.

The station would keep a tab of ambient air quality at a particular area with the aid of sensors and display RPM level, ozone, Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons, Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and other hazardous content. The electronic screen will showcase the readings above the station to make people catch a glimpse of it.