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Canberra Today 15°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Air quality plummets in the south, all ratings still ‘hazardous’

Photo: Nathan Harradine Hale

THIS morning’s latest air-quality readings over the past 24 hours from ACT Health shows all three stations – Civic, Florey and Monash – are still showing the rating as “hazardous”, the sixth and worst rating for air quality.

The air quality index has improved in Civic, down to 1783 from yesterday’s 2302; likewise in Florey, today at 2147 compared with yesterday’s 2577, but things have worsened dramatically in the south with the Monash station’s air quality index leaping from 1155 yesterday to 2504 today.

Here are ACT Health’s readings:

Civic air quality station

Air quality index (AQI): 1783 – Hazardous

Highest pollutant: Particulates PM2.5

Last update: 7:00 am 06 January 2020 AEST

Florey air quality station

Air quality index (AQI): 2147 – Hazardous

Highest pollutant: Particulates PM2.5

Last update: 7:00 am 06 January 2020 AEST

Monash air quality station

Air quality index (AQI): 2504 – Hazardous

Highest pollutant: Particulates PM2.5

Last update: 7:00 am 06 January 2020 AEST

Understanding the AQI

The purpose of the AQI is to help understand what local air quality means to your health. To make it easier to understand, the AQI is divided into six categories:

Air Quality Index
(AQI) Values
Levels of Health Concern Colors
When the AQI is in this range: ..air quality conditions are: …as symbolized by this color:
0 to 50 Good Green
51 to 100 Moderate Yellow
101 to 150 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Orange
151 to 200 Unhealthy Red
201 to 300 Very Unhealthy Purple
301 to 500 Hazardous Maroon

Note: Values above 500 are considered Beyond the AQI. Follow recommendations for the Hazardous category. Additional information on reducing exposure to extremely high levels of particle pollution is available here.

Each category corresponds to a different level of health concern. The six levels of health concern and what they mean are:

  • “Good” AQI is 0 to 50. Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
  • “Moderate” AQI is 51 to 100. Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people. For example, people who are unusually sensitive to ozone may experience respiratory symptoms.
  • “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” AQI is 101 to 150. Although general public is not likely to be affected at this AQI range, people with lung disease, older adults and children are at a greater risk from exposure to ozone, whereas persons with heart and lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from the presence of particles in the air.
  • “Unhealthy” AQI is 151 to 200. Everyone may begin to experience some adverse health effects, and members of the sensitive groups may experience more serious effects.
  • “Very Unhealthy” AQI is 201 to 300. This would trigger a health alert signifying that everyone may experience more serious health effects.
  • “Hazardous” AQI greater than 300. This would trigger a health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

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