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Air Quality Index in London
What Is The Air
Quality Index And What Does It Mean?
Why Do I Need To Know What
The AQI Is?
How Are We Doing?
Taking Responsibility - What You Can Do To
Improve Air Quality
We Must All Be Accountable - Improving Air
Quality and Reducing Climate Change - Find Out
More
It’s technical,
but the information is valuable and actually
easy to understand. The Air Quality Index (AQI)
is based on hourly pollutant measurements of the
most common air pollutants: sulphur dioxide
(SO2), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2),
carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particulate matter
(PM2.5). Here's how an AQI is determined. At the
end of each hour, the concentration of each
pollutant that the AQI station monitors is
converted into a number ranging from zero
upwards, using a common scale, or index (like a
ruler for measurement) The pollutant with the
highest number at a given hour becomes the AQI
reading. As the air quality changes, the AQI
reading increases or decreases. The lower the
AQI reading, the cleaner the air.
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If the AQI is 15 or
below, the air quality is considered very good.
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If the AQI is
between 16 and 32, the air quality is considered
relatively good.
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If the AQI is
between 32 and 49 (moderate), there may be some
adverse effects on very sensitive people.
-
With an AQI between
50 to 99 (poor), there may have some short-term
adverse effects on people or animals, or may
cause significant damage to vegetation and
property.
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With an AQI value of
100 or more (very poor), there may cause adverse
effects on a large proportion of people.
The Ministry of the
Environment added fine particulate matter to the
AQI in 2003. Therefore, current data on AQI
cannot be compared to AQI data before 2003.
London is currently
served by one AQI monitoring station, located at
900 Highbury Avenue and the Ministry of the
Environment collects the data.
Why Do I Need To Know What
The AQI Is?
Understanding the
purpose and AQI readings can help you make
important health choices. Like the “UV
Index” for sun exposure, the Air Quality Index (AQI)
provides an easy-to-understand indication of the
health risk associated with the levels of air
pollutants in the air at any time. On smog
advisory days we need to reduce our use of
combustion engines (cars, lawnmowers etc.) and
conserve energy use. Every effort and action is
worthwhile and makes a difference.
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How Are We Doing?
æ Getting
Better
The latest data
available (2008) indicated that the air quality
in London was good or very good 92 percent of
the time. The general trend shows that there has
been a gradual improvement in air quality
between 2003 and 2008.
Annual variations are due primarily to
variations in weather conditions, which can have
a significant impact on air quality. For
example, the summer of 2005 was one of the
warmest summers this decade. Therefore, both the
conditions for the formation of smog were more
frequent and demand for electricity from
coal-fired power plants were higher
For London, ground-level ozone is responsible
for about 90 percent of the days where the AQI
is moderate or worse, with fine particulate
matter accounting for the other 10 percent.
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Taking
Responsibility - What You Can Do To Improve Air
Quality
At home
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Upgrade your home (insulation, window, furnace,
air conditioners, etc.) and receive grants and
rebates from the federal and provincial
governments. For more information, visit
www.energuide.london.ca
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If you have central air conditioning, set your
thermostat at 25°C during the summer.
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Clean the air conditioner’s filter every month.
A dirty air filter reduces airflow and may
damage the unit. Clean filters enable the unit
to cool down quickly and use less energy. If you
have a central air conditioner, regularly clean
or change the filter at the beginning of the
cooling season.
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In the summer, turn off all sources of heat,
such as lights, appliances and electrical
equipment, when not in use. If you can, do your
cooking and laundry early in the morning or in
the evening.
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Use ceiling fans and portable fans to help you
feel cooler during the summer.
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Use programmable thermostats to reduce cooling
when you are asleep or away from home. Every
degree difference moves energy costs around 5%.
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During the summer, close curtains on sunny days
and open them at night.
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Use compact fluorescent light bulbs in the
busiest rooms in your home – these bulbs use 75%
less electricity than incandescent light bulbs,
and last longer too.
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Run your dishwasher and other electrical
appliances during "off-peak" hours late at
night. This "load-shifting" reduces the amount
of coal burned to meet peak electricity demands
during the day.
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Plant deciduous (leaf-bearing) trees on the
south and west side of your home. Only fully
grown, they will provide shade your home in the
summer, reducing your home cooling needs.
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Avoid the use of oil-based paints, paint
thinners, or other solvents - use water-based
latex paints and primers when redecorating your
home.
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Use a clothes line or rack to dry your clothes –
age-old renewable energy technology that can
save you over $20 per year in energy costs.
On the road
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Take London Transit, walk, and/or ride your bike
to your destination.
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Don't be a lead-foot - hard acceleration and
speeding wastes fuel. For highway driving, every
10 km/h above the speed burns 10% more gas over
the trip.
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Maintain your car regularly by following your
manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule
– poorly-tuned engines and loose gas tank caps
significantly pollution from cars.
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Retire that old beater - newer cars have
significantly lower (up to 75% lower) tailpipe
emissions than older cars. Check out
Car Heaven
for incentives.
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Avoid idling - it wastes gas, creates pollution,
and causes wear and tear on your engine. Take
special precautions on school grounds to protect
children from
unnecessary air pollution from cars that idle in
pick up lines. See the
Idling Control By-law
(pdf) for more information.
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Avoid the drive-through window if you think it
will take more than two minutes to be served -
in addition to excessive idling, during peak
times with long line-ups, it is often faster to
park your car and order your beverage or food
over the counter.
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Avoid filling your gas tank during hot summer
days and smog advisories – if you must, fill up
your tank in the evening or at night.
In the garden
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Don’t use gasoline-powered lawnmowers or
garden tools during hot summer days and smog
advisories.
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Replace old gasoline-powered lawnmowers or
garden tools, preferably with manual or
rechargeable electric power tools – an old lawn
mower can emit as much air pollution as 40 new
cars running at the same time. Check out
Mow Down Pollution for incentives.
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Do not light bonfires during smog advisories –
within City of London boundaries, backyard
bonfires are prohibited during smog advisories.
See the
Open Air Burning Regulations By-law
(pdf) for
more information.
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Avoid applying solvent-based pesticides during
smog advisories.
We Must All Be Accountable - Improving Air
Quality and Reducing Climate Change -
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