General Air Quality in UAE

The UAE's air quality is relatively good – it does not suffer from the infamous smog that blankets major cities such as Mexico City, Tehran or Beijing.

 

As on 2011 , UAE was at 8th position of top 10 countries with dirtiest air.

 

As on 2014 , UAE showed improvement in it's ambient air quality .Air pollution at 55.95 (UAE 34th country out of 59) and Air Quality at 44.05 (26th out of 59).

 

Pollution levels in the UAE are safe for residents.

 

Rapid urbanization having an impact on air quality

 

 

While the overall air quality in UAE is better than in many developed countries,but the issue will probably need more attention as the country grows. We have great cities here, which are growing and every time there is growth in human activity, there is an increase in pollution.

 

Dubai is the second largest Emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in terms of population and land area. It has population of about 750000 and total land area of 4000 sq. km with about 90% of the population lives in the urban area comprising 15% of the total area. The city of Dubai is the most trading center in the UAE and has a diversified economy. Over the last 25 years this city has improved dramatically in respect to road traffic, Urban and industrial development. It is still the scence of a continuous modernization.

 

The increasing motor vehicle fleet as well as the presence of large power stations, oil/gas refineries, cement manufacturing, smelting plants and ongoing construction and demolition activities have a greatest impact on the air quality of the city.

Busier roads, expanding airports, new construction, aspirations to host global events and the growth of tourism as part of the national economy make air quality an ever more important issue. And we cannot just blame desert conditions: in Abu Dhabi, 30 to 40 per cent of particulate pollutants come from human activities.

 

There are national guidelines and most pollutants are within these standards but some pollutants are above the standards  as per  research director of the Abu Dhabi branch of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research.

 

Particulate matter (PM) – tiny particles of sand, dust or chemicals – is one pollutant that registers elevated levels. Nitrogen oxide, usually released in the combustion of fossil fuels, and ground-level ozone, or smog, which is formed when some chemicals released from human activities react with substances already in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight, are two other substances that show elevated concentrations .

 

PM and ground-level ozone, especially in the summer, were the two pollutants most commonly registering high concentrations in Dubai.

 

Frequent Dust Storms having impact on air quality

 

Naturally airborne dust particles and major sand storms adversely affect air quality, especially in times of high humidity

 

UAE experiences dust storms, usually in February-March and June-August. Strong winds pick up momentum and sweep dust from the desert, spreading it across the region. The results are more than just irritating -both a safety and a health hazard.

 

 

Clustering of air quality problem

 

Air-quality problems are severe around quarries and cement plants, particularly in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah(Northern states/emirates of UAE). Since 2008, regulation of quarries has steadily been tightened.

 

A large part of urban pollution comes from a few offenders. Badly maintained lorries and buses cough out dark fumes. The chimney of a prominent Dubai hotel frequently belches dirty smoke.

 

Portable diesel generators are common on building sites. Noisy, dirty and expensive to run, they could be replaced with hybrid systems that combine solar panels with diesel or battery back-up.

 

In the built-up areas of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, road traffic is one of the biggest polluters. Strong summer sunlight acts on vapour from fuels and fumes from exhausts to produce ozone, which irritates eyes and causes asthma and bronchitis.

 

Ozone-forming or particle-forming substances are emitted locally by the transport, mineral excavation and hydrocarbon industries.

 

Current measures to monitor and control Air pollution

 

Air quality is one of the leading priorities in the UAE because it is associated directly with human health, the environment and its effect on the economy.

It has a target of 90 per cent adherence to the WHO air quality guidelines by 2021. Efforts have been made to properly monitor and regulate emission levels throughout the UAE in the past few years.

 

Measuring the problem is crucial to tackling it, especially in alerting residents with existing health problems that air pollution may exacerbate. Local authorities have taken steps to measure pollution levels with Abu Dhabi and Dubai providing real-time information, publicly available online, on the concentration of common pollutants, with measurements taken regularly at stations throughout the two cities.

 

In the capital, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has been doing detailed monitoring of particulate matter pollution, looking at levels of particles, known as PM10, which are only 10 micrometres in size.They are also monitoring levels of the even smaller PM2.5 particles, which are especially harmful as they are able to penetrate in the lungs when inhaled. In general , particles smaller than the width of a human hair can penetrate deeply into the lungs.

 

Abu Dhabi is operating and maintaining the 20 stations in the Abu Dhabi Air Quality Monitoring Station Network, closely checking levels of sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, hydrogen sulphide and methane. In the past five years, they have only rarely recorded levels that are above the  recommended limits, apart from very occasional spikes in ozone levels, the increases are invariably caused by desert dust storms.

The data from monitoring stations is uploaded in real time to a public website, which is enormously useful to people with respiratory problems, as they can check their local air quality online and manage their own health in a better way.

 

The Environment Protection and Safety Section (EPSS) of the Environment Department is responsible for the monitoring of air quality and the control of air pollution in Dubai.

 

Since 1988 air monitoring has been in progress to provide the basic data necessary for air quality control programs.

In 1993 / 1994 a new air monitoring network as set up to greatly expand this air monitoring capability. From that time onwards additional air analyzers were placed to meet the air quality monitoring demand for determining the exposure of the public to air pollution.

 

There are currently 46 air quality monitoring stations, in addition to a range of dust monitoring stations in crusher and quarry sites as well as cement factories .

 

To ensure that the policy and objective are being met, the EPSS keeps a close watch on air quality through development of the air quality management system (AQMS) which involves continuous monitoring of the air quality at different sites within the Dubai air shed (refer to annex 1). Priority monitoring is focused in industrial, high volume traffic flow and sensitive areas.

 

The purpose of the network is to provide information to judge compliance with air quality standards, determine the diurnal/annual trend of air pollutant concentrations, determine where new air quality management actions are needed and assess land use plans and industrial or transportation projects.

 

The Municipality also thoroughly evaluates the environmental impact of highly polluting industries. A permit will be issued only to those new industries that are complying with the emission standards. Regular inspections are conducted to ensure that the regulations continue to be met by existing industries.

 

The EPSS prepares monthly, quarterly and annual reports of air quality for the information of the public. For the determination of air quality, the EPSS developed an air quality rating system. This rating system has been developed to provide a means of describing air quality in a simple manner. These are 5 classes as shown in below table . These are based on the level of exceedance of the air quality objective.   Example – for the period from September to November 1997. The Dubai's air quality rating was
Air Quality Raing Criteria Number of Days September October November Clean Air All indicators within limits 26 27 30 High Dust Air PM10 over the limit 2 2 0 Light Pollution  Any indicator over the limit by 25% at any station 2 2 0 Significant Pollution Any indicator over the objective by 50% at any station 0 0 0 Heavy Pollution Any indicator over the objective by 50% at more than one station 0 0 0
Dubai Municipality monitors the air quality every hour and determines the Air Quality Index (AQI)to enhance the public understanding of air pollution across Dubai. The AQI benefits the general public in reporting the daily air quality providing them clear, understandable and consistent information regarding air quality across Dubai and associated health risks of air pollution. The AQI provides information on each pollutant concentrations for ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. The index is 'normalized' across pollutants so that an index value of 100 represents the level of health protection associated with the health-based standard for each pollutant and an Index value of 150 represents the significant harm level.
The AQI is calculated every previous hour for each pollutant in all stations and the overall AQI is calculated daily. The AQI bulletins are based on measured concentrations of carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide as well as dust. For each time period and for each station, the maximum 1-hour concentration for each pollutant is determined. These values are then translated on to a linear scale based on air quality standard. The following standards are used:
Index Air Quality Description 0-100 Clean Air - All indicators are within limits in all stations 101-125 Light Pollution - Any indicator over the limit up to 25% at any station 126-150 Significant Pollution - Any indicator over the limit up to 25% 150 above Heavy Pollution - Any indicator over the limit by 50% at more than one station Suspended Particulate(as PM10) above 300 High Dust Haze - Suspended Particulate
	The index for an individual pollutant is calculated as follows: Index = Pollutant Concentration  x 100              Pollutant Standard     Example: O3 concentration is 100 ppb    Index = 100/80 * 100    = 125therefore the AQI is Light Pollution     The highest calculated index is used as the AQI for each station. The daily overall AQI is determined from the highest reported AQI for individual pollutant and stations. Sand/dust storm events are reported from the AQI as high dust haze. When air pollution is LIGHT , effects are unlikely to be notived even by those who are sensitive to air pollution. When air pollution is SIGNIFICANT , sensitive people may notice mild effects but these are unlikely to need action. When air pollution is HEAVY , sensitive people may notice significant and may need to need action.

 Cleaner-burning compressed natural gas is introduced as a fuel for taxis, trucks and buses.

 

Electric cars and hybrid cars are being promoted.

Electric or green buses are increasing in numbers.

Cityscape Global with it's environmentally friendly theme is focusing on Sustainable principles, strategies and practices.

Cityscape  is the world's largest networking exhibition and conference on property dveelopment , is a trade show for real estate in Dubai attended by investors , banks , financial institutions, commercial & residential property developers, high-net-worth individuals, property advisers, architects, designers,  municipal & regional government authorities, construction companies, senior executives of key organisations involved in the design and construction.

 

UAE is becoming the flagship of sustainable development .The region is at the forefront of environmental policies, procedures and regulations and each real estate developer is taking responsibility of going that extra mile and pushing the boundaries of sustainable development.

 

UAE is also consistently reducing the Sulphur content in diesel to reduce air pollution.

 

Green Engine oil is  introduced which is a type of eco- friendly product. 

 

Recent deregularisation in petrol prices  is another step in right direction to curb carbon emission due to cars and hence reducing pollution automatically.

Renewables, and especially solar, will have a much larger role sooner than we ever expected in the UAE . Infact work is in full progress and very soon solar and wind may be the cheapest source of power in UAE which means automatically air pollution will be reduced.

Scope of Improvement : What more to be done

 

Biodegradable, environmentally-friendly chemicals can help to keep down dust while consuming less water.

 

And it may be transport where an integrated strategy is most needed: tighter enforcement on the worst vehicles, cleaner engines and more public transport.

 

Industries should burn fuel oil with low sulphur content , install the best practicable air pollution control facilities and properly maintain air pollution source equipment and control facilities and use low emission technology available.

 

One possibility is to sharply increase registration fees on more polluting vehicles, and use the revenues to offer rebates on low-emission vehicles.

 

The public and industry should avoid open burning of trash.

 

Owners of motor vehicles should use unleaded fuel or low pollutant emission fuel , properly maintain their vehicles, tune their engines regularly, should not tamper emission control devices and observe good driving habits. The motor vehicle is one of the major sources of air pollution. Fast driving and hard accelerations produces more pollutants per kilometer travelled.Cars and Trucks should not be overloaded as overload increases fuel consumption and pollutant emissions.

 

We should report to municipalities or Environment Protection and Safety Section about any industrial and commercial establishments emitting uncontrolled smoke, odour and other emissions for investigations.

 

We should participate in clean-up programs organized by government or private institution.

 

Schools/Educators/Parents should pass on to students or children an understanding of environmental issues

Conclusion

 

In general, UAE has good air quality with the exception of high levels of particulates in summer mainly of natural origin. However, as the city grows threat to air quality increases. The ozone level is becoming high due to increase in motor vehicle fleet.

 

In conclusion, air pollution is one of big pollution types that impact the environment negatively in UAE. The main two solution resources in the UAE as the government see are vehicles and industries. Their impact is harmful on the atmosphere. The governments try to reduce this impact by many steps.

 

Clean air is an essential requirement for community health, the health of vegetation, the protection of paint works and the useful life of other materials. Clean air is essential to maintaining the delicate balance of life on this planet not just for humans, but also for wildlife, vegetation, water and soil.  We all must play our part to maintain good air quality for the future.

 

  

Sources :

 

Envirocities magazine

The National

Dubai Municipality portal

Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi portal

http://www.numbeo.com