TRICHY: Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami inaugurated continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) at Bharathidasan University (BDU) and (SJC) in Trichy on Wednesday.

A digital display board with the reading of the air quality has been installed near the entrance of both the campuses to create awareness. These two institutions are among the 25 places in the state where CAAQMS are established.

The stations will measure the air quality of a radius of 5 km distance and evaluate a total of 16 parameters including particulate matter (PM 2.5, 10) and other pollutants like sulphur dioxide, ammonia, carbon monoxide. They are also equipped to measure meteorological parameters like rainfall, solar radiation, wind direction, wind speed, temperature, and humidity.

The data from the station will help government agencies inform the public regarding the current level of , formulate strategies, policy, and decision making.

All the 25 CAAQMS stations, each worth Rs 2 crore , are continuously monitored online and interlinked to in Chennai and IIT-Madras. The data from the station can be used by scientists, academicians and students for teaching and research purposes. BDU has asked interested people to approach K Thamaraiselvi of the department of environmental biotechnology for details.

“Air quality monitoring networks will keep track of air quality in various places such as residential areas, industrial areas, commercial areas, roadside areas, and reference areas in the city,” said M Arockiasamy Xavier, principal of SJC.