MoECC inaugurates new mobile air quality monitoring station

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC) inaugurated yesterday evening a new mobile station to monitor air quality, on the sidelines of the ministry's World Environment Day celebrations being held at Tawar Mall until Friday.

In a press statement, Abdul-Hadi Nasser al-Marri, Assistant Undersecretary for Environmental Affairs, said with this new station, the MoECC has 26 stations on the national network for monitoring air quality at the State level.He stressed that the ministry would continue its efforts to provide such stations in implementation of its plan for national air quality monitoring stations. It includes the installation of 50 monitoring stations covering various parts of the country this year.For his part, Hassan Ali al-Qasimi, director of the Monitoring and Environmental Laboratory Department, confirmed that the ministry owns mobile stations to monitor air quality in addition to fixed stations for continuous monitoring of atmospheric air pollutants and to ensure air quality in the country. The mobile stations are used to monitor air quality in places not covered by fixed stations or when needed in emergency situations to cover larger areas and ensure higher air quality standards.Al-Qassimi added that the monitoring system at the new station, as in the case of fixed stations, is based on the State Environmental Protection Law No. 30 of 2002 and its executive regulations, Law No. 4 of 2005, which stipulate standards for air quality in the country, consistent with international requirements.