What is air quality?
Simply put, air quality refers to the cleanliness level of the air in a particular area. If they quality of the air is good it means that there are less and small amounts od unwanted substances and chemical particles (pollutants) in the air. If the air quality id considered to be bad it means there Is a high level of pollutants, chemical particles and substances in the air. The number of pollutants and the quality of air have an inversely proportionate relationship.
Importance of good quality air:
• Reduces chances of health and breathing problems for humans
• Creates greener environment
• Increases positivity and standard of social living
• Ensures plants and animals have a safe environment to thrive in
• Reduces risks related to ground level ozone
• Reduces risks related to harmful particulate matter
• Reduces risks related to night fogging and smog
Change in air quality:
The quality of air in a single location can fluctuate multiple times based on various factors. The quality of air is directly related to how air moves through the location and any external influencing factors such as:
- Winds: Wind patterns have a drastic impact on the quality of air as wind is the main factor that spreads pollutants across from one place to another. Wind can carry pollutants across sea and land based on the time, direction and speed of the breeze.
- Temperature: the temperature of the environment determines the position in which the pollutants are trapped in the air. In winter, when the air is cold the pollutants are trapped closer to the surface beneath the dense cold air. This leads to a reduction in the quality of air. In summer, the air is hot and it rises, this disperses pollutants from the surface and leads to an effect of higher air quality.
- Humans: Humans are a main source of causing pollution in air with the instillation of factories, power plants, vehicular exhausts and industry gases. All these factors contribute immensely to air pollution and decrease the quality of air in immediate and surrounding areas. Air pollution caused by human factors is increasing at an alarming rate and the awareness for the same has hit peaks.
- Natural causes: Apart from the above listed factors, natural calamities such as dust storms, volcanic irruptions and sand storms also contribute to a reduction in air quality. While these factors can not be controlled, they drastically increase air pollution.
Air quality indoors:
This refers to the quality of air within a building and around various structures in relation to the comfort of the occupants of the building. Healthy indoor air leads to a positive and productive environment with all aspects to working. Indoor air quality can drastically decline due to environmental tobacco smoke, mold, ground level ozone and gases such as carbon monoxide. The best way to maintain and improve indoor air quality is by installing a system of filters and increase ventilation options within the building premises on a regular basis. The size of the filtration system should be based on the number of building occupants, building size etc.