Air quality measurement and monitoring in cities and towns is necessary in order to comply with national and international regulations; they also give a solid foundation for air quality research.
NILU has good infrastructure and high competence in measuring and developing new measurement methods and instrumentation. This knowledge is used, inter alia, to advise local and national authorities on issues that are relevant to the development of measures and regulations to achieve better air quality.
Air quality monitoring stations
Each individual municipality is responsible for monitoring and ensuring air quality in Norwegian cities. NILU monitors air quality in several cities and towns on behalf of municipalities, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, and industry. To do this, we maintain stationary monitoring stations in different locations.
The traffic-oriented stations measure pollution from traffic, and thus stand close to the road. Urban background stations, on the other hand, must be situated where they are able to capture total air pollution from various sources (traffic, heating, urban industries, natural sources, etc.). In some residential areas, there are also so-called “industry-affected” monitoring stations. They capture potential air pollution from industrial activities in the local area.
The instruments in the monitoring stations measure continuously 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Every hour, data on pollutant types and levels are recorded and displayed in real time on the web site www.luftkvalitet.info (Norwegian only). The information is particularly important for those living with diseases that can be exacerbated by high air pollution, such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
