Edmond air quality map

How much valuable information about air pollution is there on the air quality map for Edmond?

There is a lot of valuable information about the current state of the air on the air quality map for Edmond and the link to it can readily be seen at the top of the main city page. The link is the air pollution map itself and by clicking on it, a new set of pages will open which is filled with all the latest facts and figures about the current level of pollution.

Once the new set of pages opens, the viewer will notice the strong colouration of the map. The colour is an indication of the current level of pollution. Available colours range from pale green to dark maroon where the darker colours indicate worsening air quality. The meaning of the colours can be seen in the legend at the foot of the page and are standard across the whole IQAir website.

There are also many coloured discs scattered across the area. These show the sites of the ground-level air monitoring stations that operate throughout the city and its surroundings. Some, however, may not be under the direct control of the city. At the centre of each disc is a number which is the United States Air Quality Index reading or US AQI for short. It is calculated by measuring the levels of up to six of the most prolific pollutants found in the city air. They are usually both sizes of Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide.

This whole system has the backing of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and it is used when making comparisons of air quality between different towns and cities all over the world. Each station can reveal a lot of information which can be accessed by selecting the appropriate disc. This can be invaluable when travelling around the city.

Looking back to the main city page, it will be seen in the coloured band across the top of it that the city was experiencing a period of “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI reading of 61. The background colour of the band also shows this level. Both PM10 and PM2.5 were measured but it is PM2.5 that is considered to be the main pollutant with a recorded level of 16.8 µg/m³ (microns per cubic metre). The recommended target figure is 5 µg/m³ so Edmond is three and a half times higher than that.

Directly below the air pollution map for Edmond can be seen the number of contributors there are and the number of stations they operate. In June 2023, there were three operators who controlled three stations on behalf of the city. Two of them were government agencies and the third was an anonymous contributor. One of the government agencies was the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality which operate a total of eleven stations across the state and have over 4,000 followers.

Is there any more exciting material about air quality on the air pollution map for Edmond?

There is a lot more exciting material on the air pollution map for Edmond and it is accessible by using the icon at the top of the page to reopen it in “Full-screen” mode. In this way, the information is easier to see.

When the new page reopens, there will be a list on the left-hand side of the screen which shows four options which can all be turned off and on the see the effects they each have on the map.

The first option shows the locations of the ground-level air quality monitoring stations around the city. Each district can be explored further by choosing the appropriate disc.

Option number two shows where any wildfires there are that might be burning out of control in the region. At the time of writing in early June 2023, there were no reports of any fires in the area. If fires are detected, then option four needs to be consulted because it shows the speed and direction of the prevailing winds and will give an early warning of where the drifting smoke may blow.

The third option will change the colour of the map to indicate the current state of the air. This might be distracting when the colours are dark, in which case it can be deactivated so the map reverts to a paler set of colours which are easier to understand.

Immediately beneath the air pollution map for Edmond can be seen a list of the most polluted areas of the city according to the readings obtained by the monitoring stations. Currently, the dirtiest part of the city is around the station at Hawkeye Pass which recorded a US AQI reading of 64 which classifies it as being “Moderate”. There is also a list of the most popular stations according to the number of followers they have. The station at Eastern and Memorial sits at the top of this list with 471 loyal followers.

Can the source of the polluted air be identified on the air quality map for Edmond?

The source of the polluted air is not shown directly on the air quality map for Edmond but, as with most large cities, exhaust fumes from vehicles are possibly the major source of pollution here. This is followed by smoke from wildfires at certain times of the year. This smoke is very often generated in neighbouring states and blown in on the prevailing winds.

Particulate Matter is often quoted on the air quality map for Edmond, but what is it?

PM2.5 particles are suspended solid microscopic particles and tiny liquid droplets suspended in the air. Unlike large particles, they can bypass biological barriers, enter the body and threaten human health.

Fine particulate matter is in the air in the state of aerosol and in the natural environment, but they pose the greatest danger precisely in large cities. There are more of them in the urban environment; in terms of chemical composition, the fine aerosol is much more toxic than in the wild. In different cities, the composition of PM2.5 aerosol is different, as well as the parameters of the particles that make up its composition. They can appear due to the chemical reaction of nitrogen and sulphur oxides with water vapour in the atmosphere.