Hala Al Khayat (Abu Dhabi)
Maintaining air quality is one of the main goals that the UAE seeks to achieve, and is considered one of its most important current and future priorities, especially since air pollution poses the single largest environmental risk to health in the world.
According to the World Health Organization, indoor and outdoor air pollution causes about 7 million premature deaths worldwide each year, and 9 out of 10 people breathe polluted outdoor air that exceeds acceptable levels set by WHO guidelines. The effects of air pollution are not limited to health aspects, but extend to other economic and social aspects.
In the UAE, air quality is a major issue due to its role in promoting healthy and sustainable living. Therefore, the UAE government has placed air quality among its main priorities and given it a key performance indicator in the national agenda of the UAE Vision 2031, and in the goals of the UAE Centennial 2071, which focus heavily on quality of life and a sustainable economy. Air quality has also been included as a priority in the general environmental policy, as it represents one of the eight priorities in the policy.
Engineer Faisal Ali Al Hammadi, Executive Director of the Environmental Quality Sector at the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, stressed the agency’s commitment to working with all relevant sectors to ensure finding appropriate solutions to reduce air pollution resulting from emissions from the industrial sector, the transportation sector, and noise pollution, as many projects and initiatives are being implemented continuously to reduce emissions.
He pointed out that the Authority seeks to improve air quality in the emirate, achieve environmental balance while ensuring economic development, by providing strong tools and systems based on scientific evidence to ensure effective management of air quality, and identify measures that would reduce pollution and protect human health and the environment.
He said that the Authority continuously monitors the ambient air quality in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi through a wide network of monitoring and observation stations, which is considered one of the most comprehensive ambient air quality monitoring networks in the region, and includes 20 fixed monitoring stations and two mobile stations spread throughout the emirate.
The network monitors about 17 different pollutants, and provides accurate readings every hour, which include: levels of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, hydrogen sulfide, volatile aromatic substances, in addition to suspended fine particles, and meteorological data.
electronic link
Regarding the efforts made at the level of the United Arab Emirates, Al Hammadi explained that the Authority began in 2008 to implement the electronic linking project for air quality monitoring station networks in cooperation with the relevant authorities at the local and federal levels with the aim of establishing a national network to support the country’s efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality.
The National Air Quality Monitoring Network initiative was launched by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, and the Authority played a leading role in its success by providing technical support to the Ministry through using its electronic linkage project as the nucleus of this initiative.
The Authority linked several local entities in its project, such as: the Department of Energy, Abu Dhabi Ports Group, and Emirates Global Aluminium. At the federal level, electronic linkage was established with the network of stations of the National Center of Meteorology and the Dubai Municipality, which contributed to determining the levels and quality of air at the state level, in addition to building local capabilities, raising public awareness, and unifying air quality monitoring standards, thus raising data efficiency, and forming a true, scientific and accurate picture that contributes to developing programs, plans, and policies aimed at reducing emissions, improving air quality, and providing a safe and healthy environment.
The electronic linking project for ADNOC’s air quality monitoring network has been completed, which represents a strategic step to strengthen cooperation and combine efforts between the two parties in order to preserve the environment. This linking contributes to reaching a comprehensive and integrated picture of air quality in the emirate, and thus taking joint measures to reduce pollutants resulting from the oil and gas sector and mitigate their effects.
Chimneys of facilities
Among the projects currently being implemented by the Authority is the project of the continuous monitoring system for emissions from industrial facilities and power stations across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi electronically. Al Hammadi explained that the new and innovative electronic linking system has been designed, which provides the opportunity to collect instant and real-time data from these chimneys. The project, which began in 2022, will work to create an emissions database to evaluate the content and structure of industrial emissions data systems, especially industrial facility emissions data.
It contributes to enhancing cooperation between the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and the relevant authorities to achieve the common goal of preserving the environment and ensuring its quality, and enabling them to collect emissions data to improve the mechanism for preparing greenhouse gas emissions inventory reports.
Regarding the odor monitoring network, Al Hammadi stated that the Authority launched the project to enable it to monitor air pollution and odors, and reduce the resulting disturbance by monitoring the activities that cause them throughout the emirate. The network will be a valuable tool for early detection and rapid response to odor emissions that cause disturbance to the emirate’s residents.
He explained that the Authority paved the way for this project by conducting an initial assessment to understand the current status of disturbing odours, which resulted in a special focus on 13 affected areas throughout the emirate. Fifty sensors will also be installed to monitor odours in the emirate during the current year, which will give an accurate indication of the current status of their level, enabling us to take the necessary immediate measures.
air quality index
The Executive Director of the Environmental Quality Sector at the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi pointed out that the air quality in Abu Dhabi is up to the required level determined by the National Air Quality Index, despite some pollutants exceeding national standards, such as ground level ozone and suspended particles, which are naturally high levels in the Arabian Gulf region with its desert environment. He explained in this regard that the agency is in the process of studying and identifying the sources and factors affecting these pollutants, especially fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns, in order to develop the necessary environmental measures.
He pointed to a number of proposals that would reduce air pollution caused by the vehicle sector and improve air quality, such as implementing the Euro 6 standard for new vehicles, which ensures low levels of emissions, setting controls on the import of used vehicles and old vehicles operating in the market with old standards that pollute the air, unifying and updating the standards and requirements for periodic inspection of vehicle emissions to keep pace with technical progress in the field, and the shift to electric and hybrid vehicles. In addition to enhancing monitoring and surveillance using artificial intelligence to ensure compliance and conformity with the standards adopted at the local and federal levels in the country.
Challenges
The National Air Quality Agenda 2031 identified challenges facing the UAE, including population growth, urban expansion, reliance on private cars, preference for large, high-emission four-wheel drive models, and potential lack of support for large investments in industry. In terms of indoor air, challenges include the lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities for monitoring, managing and mitigating indoor air quality, the lack of comprehensive federal-level guidelines or regulations on indoor air quality, many older residential buildings with indoor air quality problems, as well as entrenched traditional practices such as burning incense and the general public’s lack of awareness of indoor air quality issues.
Challenges related to ambient odors include a regulatory gap for odors at the federal level, inconsistent quality and availability of odor monitoring data across the country, allocation of adequate resources and technical capabilities for odor monitoring, and urban expansion and population growth that has brought residential areas closer to existing odor generating facilities and increased pressure on existing infrastructure.
The challenges related to ambient noise include the comprehensive management of the introduction of new noise sources into the environment to reduce the increase in harmful noise emissions, in addition to the lack of noise insulators and attenuators on most of the old main highways close to residential areas, the inconsistency of noise monitoring data and the quality and availability of noise assessment across the country, and the lack of awareness among community members about the health effects of noise.
Dr. Riad Al Dabbagh, President of Manchester International Academy and an international environmental expert, confirmed that air pollution is one of the main issues locally and internationally. According to United Nations indicators, air pollution is the biggest environmental health risk in the world. Every year, more than 6.5 million people die from exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution because the air has a limited ability to clean itself of pollutants and therefore cannot get rid of all the pollutants that threaten it.
Al Dabbagh explained that air quality is one of the main issues in the national agenda of the UAE Vision 2031, as the agenda aims to raise the air quality rate from its current level to 90% by 2031.
“In recent years, the UAE has made significant efforts to develop a clear and solid understanding of the current state of air quality. Efforts have focused on implementing initiatives that will improve air quality management. The National Air Quality Agenda has been developed to represent the strategy that will guide the efforts of federal and local institutions to facilitate air quality monitoring and management. The agenda is expected to improve air quality, while supporting the achievement of mutual benefits and leveraging synergies across a range of relevant sectors,” Al Dabbagh said.
He explained that the National Agenda was designed to be in line with and support other national thematic and sectoral strategies, such as: the Green Agenda, the National Innovation Strategy, the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, the National Smart Mobility Strategy, and the UAE Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The agenda seeks to improve air quality in four areas: outdoor air quality, indoor air quality, ambient odors, and ambient noise.
Initiatives
Dr. Hussam Chaudhry, Associate Professor at the School of Energy, Earth Sciences, Infrastructure and Society at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, stressed that air pollution is a global problem and a major challenge, as it poses significant risks to the population and causes serious health problems, increases mortality rates, contributes to the development of chronic diseases, and harms the environment.
He said that the World Health Organization considers clean, fresh air to be a basic requirement for human health and well-being.
Chowdhury believes that the UAE has taken effective steps and implemented various initiatives to maintain air quality and reduce pollution, recognizing the importance of environmental sustainability for public health, economic prosperity and the preservation of its unique ecosystems.
In this context, Chowdhury referred to some initiatives, including the National Air Quality Agenda 2031 launched by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the implementation of which aims to achieve a range of health, environmental, social and economic benefits.
Chowdhury pointed out the efforts made by the state in developing the Green Economy Initiative, which includes a set of programmes and strategies aimed at shifting towards a green economy.
This includes investing in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and promoting sustainable practices across sectors to reduce air pollution from industrial activities.
The UAE government has also invested heavily in developing efficient public transport systems, including metro networks, buses and tram services, based on the belief that the use of public transport helps reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions, thus improving air quality in urban areas.
Chowdhury explained that the green building standards and initiatives implemented in the country help promote sustainable building practices, improve energy efficiency, and reduce indoor air pollution. These measures help reduce emissions from buildings and improve indoor air quality for their occupants.
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