As measured?

Since 2010, the DAGMA Air Quality Management Group, began with the Air Quality Surveillance System made up of 9 stations located in strategic points of the city that measures daily and hourly pollutants such as Particulate Matter less than 10 microns - PM10, Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns - PM2.5, Sulfur Dioxide - S02, Nitrogen Dioxide NO2, Tropospheric Oxygen O3 and Meteorology.

With these indicators, according to the environmental norm regulated by decree 610 of 2010, PM10 and PM2.5 are especially measured, which are small solid or liquid particles of dust, ashes, soot, metallic particles, cement or pollen, dispersed in the atmosphere, and whose aerodynamic diameter is less than 10 and 2.5 microns, that is, one thousandth of 1 millimeter. Of the 9 stations, Univalle and La Base Aérea only measure PM2.5 and do not measure PM10, that is, the ranges with which they measure the ICA are lower and therefore it is more likely that the indicator will be higher. .

The Air Quality Index - ICA, is a daily indicator that allows comparing the levels of air pollution, of the 9 stations and corresponds to a numerical scale to which a color is assigned related to the negative effects it can have on the environment. health pollution level. From 0 to 50 (green) the air quality is good, from 51 to 100 (yellow) it is moderate, from 101 to 150 (orange) it is unfavorable for sensitive groups, from 151 to 200 (red) it is harmful to health and from 201 to 300 (purple) is very harmful to health. This is a system adopted from the EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency.

“Our challenge in this time has been to guarantee that the measurement that is made is reliable, of good quality and continuous, that is why we have gradually repowered the stations, changing equipment from 15 years ago. Thus, as long as we have enough data, we can focus on other issues such as modeling and prediction”, said the engineer Arizabaleta, who also announced that In June of this year they received certification from IDEAM for the Pance, Univalle, Air Base and Compartir stations, which certifies that the data generated is reliable.