The AirAware Project

Project news

11.09.2008: the International Workshop organised within the AIR-AWARE project has been rescheduled for 28 October 2008. This event has the scope of disseminating the knowledge and skills acquired by Bucharest's urban and metropolitan planners as a result of using the AIR-AWARE system. The organiser aims to contribute to an exchange of experience at EU level on sustainable urban design. The target group is represented by the Urban Planning Centres from European Union's cities, and the EU Expert Group on Urban Environment, as well as other experts previously involved in theme-related projects at EU level.

Details on this event, invitation and registration form are available here.

05.09.2008: the National Meteorological Administration has organised a two days training seminar (4-5 september 2008). The Seminar was dedicated to: urban planning centres/directions with responsibilities for major urban areas, which could benefit in their work on urban development and planning; environmental local and regional authorities which could integrate in their daily work feeding the system with monitoring data on urban air quality; and public health local authorities interested in developing air pollution related health impact cadastre to be used by the system in generating health impact prognosis. The General Manager of the National Meteorological Administration, Dr. Ion SANDU addressed the invitation to participant authorities to further multiply and extend the implementation of this useful tool in their regions/urban areas, confronting with frequent pollution episodes, in order to identify the exact cause and source of pollution, but also to estimate the impact on public health. Representatives of all such instutions from major cities in Romania (Alba Iulia, Alexandria, Arad, Bacau, Bistrita, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Calarasi, Cluj, Constanta, Craiova, Focsani, Galati, Giurgiu, Iasi, Oradea, Pitesti, Ploiesti, Ramnicu valcea, Sfantu Gheorghe, Sibiu, Slatina, Slobozia, Targu-Jiu, Targu-Mures, Timisoara, Tulcea, Vaslui) have participated in this training seminar. The event was held at Hotel MALIBU, Mamaia.

01.09.2008: the National Meteorological Administration (NMA), together with its partner the Bucharest.s Environmental Protection Agency have invited representatives of industry operating in Bucharest, and daily participating with data on emissions as input in the AIR-AWARE system, in order to get a general description of system operational functionality, but also to see the technical achievements and benefits of pollution forecast. With this occasion, the participants have agreed to submit daily their forecast for next day operations related to each plant monitored and included in the AIR-AWARE System. Also, it was agreed that each industrial operator included in the system to have specific access rights in consulting the monitoring data included in the AIR-AWARE system.

30.07.2008: the National Meteorological Administration (NMA) hosted the Symposium .Applied Meteorology . Atmospheric Modeling.. The event was organised by TAIEX . Technical Assistance Information Exchange Instrument . of the European Commission in cooperation with NMA and the Regional Meteorological Centre - Muntenia. A challenge of the applied meteorology to environment is to understand the evolution of pollutants concentration using both numerical models and observational methods to provide the necessary data for the purpose of better assessment, simulation and prediction of environmental air quality, mostly in urban areas. Thus, the aim of the symposium was:
- to map out the future of an ambient air quality policy in the South Muntenia Region using a combination of measurements and modelling techniques to assess ambient air quality where the levels over a representative period exceed the limit values, therefore being determined according to the provisions referred to in the Air Directive;
- to bring together research and experience both in the meteorological and environmental domain and to apply and develop their results to air modelling thus being eligible for reduction of the environmental impact of economic activities and of products through an integrated policy;
- to provide training in theoretical and applied aspects of atmospheric physics and dynamics, modelling techniques, weather forecasting and observation of atmospheric processes.
Considering this aim, it was an excellent opportunity for the AIR-AWARE project to communicate the achievements, knowledge and skills resulted for each participating organisation in developing the air pollution impact surveillance and warning system for Bucharest.s urban environment.

30.07.2008: the functionality and applications of the AIR-AWARE on-line system was the thema of a training Seminar held today at the National Meteorological Administration with all partners in the system. The participants had the occasion to access the system on-line, in order to accomodate with functions and data basis interogation options, but also to evaluate the usefulness of system for their specific activity. The trainers of this session were dr. Mihaela CAIAN (AIR-AWARE Project Manager) and Vasile CRACIUNESCU (GIS expert at NMA).

29.07.2008: The AIR-AWARE system will be presented within a Regional Training Seminar scheduled for 3-5 September 2008. The regional Training Seminar is dedicated to: urban planning centres/directions with responsibilities for major urban areas, which could benefit in their work on urban development and planning; environmental local and regional authorities which could integrate in their daily work feeding the system with monitoring data on urban air quality; and public health local authorities which should be interested in developing air pollution related health impact cadastre to be used by the system in generating health impact prognosis. Close ties should be established with such authorities from known heavily polluted urban areas in Romania, confronting with frequent pollution episodes in order to identify the exact cause and source of pollution, but also to estimate the impact on public health. Representatives of all such instutions from major cities in Romania will be invited to participate in this training seminar. The location of the event will be announced through the invitation adressed by the National Meteorological Administration.

31.10.2008: the AIR-AWARE Final Conference was held in the presence of 89 participants, the President of National Agency for Environmental Protection, representatives of regional, and local environmental and health authorities, industrial operators collaborating within the AIR-AWARE project, research institutes, universities, NGOs. During the event, a press conference was organised, were mass-media representatives had the occasion to see how the AIR-AWARE System works, but also to find out the system.s components.

Detailed information on the event, including presentations made by the AIR-AWARE Project Team could be found here.

28.10.2008: the Urban and Metropolitan Planning Centre . Bucharest has organised together with the National Meteorological Administration the AIR-AWARE International Workshop. The Chief Architect of Bucharest Municipality participated in this event, and addressed a message to participants, and congratulated the project team for the results achieved by implementing the AIR-AWARE System.

Detailed information on the event, including presentations made by the AIR-AWARE Project Team and by the invited international speaker could be found here.