Mekong Air Quality Explorer: bridging data with policies and public awareness in Thailand
Abstract
Air pollution has been an ever-increasing problem in the rapidly growing population clusters globally, giving rise to social and health concerns for millions of inhabitants. In Southeast Asia, it is caused primarily by constant vehicular pollution and peri-urban industrial activity in the mega-cities and seasonal agriculture residue burning in the rural areas, leading to an estimated 2 million deaths attributed to air pollution exposure, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Although authorities have made notable efforts to monitor the air pollution levels mainly through the installation of air quality sensors at strategic locations, there remain data gaps in areas where the sensor network is sparse. Since 2019, SERVIR-Mekong, a joint project supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and hosted by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), has been working with Thailands Pollution Control Department (PCD) to address the data gaps in Thailand. SERVIR-Mekong developed the Mekong Air Quality Explorer an operational air quality nowcasting and forecasting system for the Lower Mekong region by leveraging geospatial data from geolocated regulatory-graded sensors, low-cost sensors and modeling systems which incorporate satellite data. The system has been endorsed by the PCD in Thailand and was used in a pilot province for regulating agricultural burning one of the major causes of air pollution. In addition, the Mekong Air Quality Explorer illustrated worsened air quality in Northern Thailand during the time when forest fire was at its peak in 2020, as another means to raise public awareness. The Mekong Air Quality Explorer is freely available and accessible through the following web site: https://aqatmekong-servir.adpc.net/en/map/
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021AGUFM.A13H..07T