BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 22. The U.S. Embassy in Baku will formally launch an “Air Quality Monitoring Program” (AQMP) in April 2022.
The Embassy’s AQMP will include a U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)-certified measuring instrument (a MET One BAM 1020), a
real-time air quality index website, and information on the Embassy
webpage.
The U.S. Embassy is announcing this initiative in honor of Earth
Day. Earth Day, April 22, is a day to learn about and remember the
importance of protecting health and the environment. In the United
States, Earth Day is not an official holiday, but it is still
marked in many ways. Americans of all ages participate in events to
increase public awareness of environmental concerns and to
celebrate their respect for the environment.
Air pollution is a critical global health threat. In February 2015,
the U.S. Department of State and the EPA formed a partnership with
the goal of improving real-time air quality data around the world
by adding data from participating U.S. embassies to the EPA data
already published on air quality conditions in the United
States.
The AQMP will continuously monitor and record the level of fine
particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air outside the Embassy and
continuously convert the data collected onto the EPA-created “Air
Quality Index” (AQI) scale. This information is available to the
public and is intended to benefit all Baku residents, including the
local health community, and the Government of Azerbaijan.
U.S. embassies and consulates in more than 50 cities in over three
dozen countries are monitoring pollution levels and disseminating
air-quality data. Data posted by the U.S. State Department to the
EPA’s AirNow platform is available 24 hours a day, seven days a
week.
We invite members of the media to explore the U.S. Embassy’s AQI
website at https://az.usembassy.gov/embassy/baku/air-quality-monitor/.
Since AQMP will be part of the U.S. EPA’s AirNow system, the air
quality data generated about the neighborhood of the U.S. Embassy
in Baku is simultaneously published on www.airnow.gov.
The Embassy reports its AQI as an hourly average and the EPA reports AQI as a 24-hour average.