Development of Ahmedabad’s Air Information and Response (AIR) Plan to Protect Public Health

Indian cities struggle with some of the highest ambient air pollution levels in the world. While national efforts are building momentum towards concerted action to reduce air pollution, individual cities are taking action on this challenge to protect communities from the many health problems caused by this harmful environmental exposure. In 2017, the city of Ahmedabad launched a new Air Quality Index (AQI) and novel Air Information and Response (AIR) Plan that facilitates daily air quality reports and an early warning system to alert residents about forecasts of dangerously high pollution levels that could adversely affect human health.

The centerpiece of the plan is an air quality index developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology’s System for Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research program that summarizes information from 10 new continuous air pollution monitoring stations in the region and develops an air quality forecast to help people avoid harmful exposures and inform policy strategies to achieve cleaner air. This plan also helps to support a local expert working group convened to formulate policy recommendations for eventual emissions reductions to achieve improved air quality, utilizing technical expertise from AMC, IITM-SAFAR, the Indian Institute of Public Health-Gandhinagar, other local academic and nonprofit stakeholders, with the Natural Resources Defense Council as knowledge partners.

This presentation explains the motivation, development, and implementation of Ahmedabad’s AIR Plan, with a focus on the observed AQI, air quality forecasts, and accompanying health risk communication messaging strategies. The plan is discussed in terms of its collaborative roots and stakeholder-driven process, health equity focus in addressing the grave threat of air pollution (particularly to vulnerable groups), research aims for establishing the basis of future epidemiologic investigation (including data archival and availability for research), technical aspects for deploying air monitoring and forecasting technology, communication strategies for health-based AQI messaging that reaches vulnerable groups, and environmental education goals including a school flag program tied to daily AQI forecasts.

The city of Ahmedabad is among the first cities in India where city leaders, state government, and civil society are proactively working together to address the country’s air pollution challenge with a focus on public health. The lessons learned from the development of the AIR Plan serve as a template for other cities aiming to address the heavy burden of air pollution on public health.