Members of the public can now determine in advance whether they need to keep their rescue inhalers handy, pop more allergy meds, or if they will have to deal with hazy conditions while driving, with the launch of two new forecast products from the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS), focussing on air quality and dust haze.
The Met Service now has on its website the Saharan Dust Haze Index Forecast and Air Quality Index Forecast products.
“These new warning systems can assist persons to plan their day-to-day activities and mitigate impacts, such as flaring of allergies, when the air quality becomes poor or degraded,” the Met Service says in a release.
The TTMS explains it developed these two early warning systems in collaboration with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), based upon a request made by the public health sector.
It is encouraging encourage stakeholders in the health sector, as well as persons with existing respiratory and other dust-sensitive ailments to utilize the products, which can be accessed at its website, http://www.metoffice.gov.tt/forecast
The new forecast products were officially launched during the Fourteenth National Climate Outlook Forum (NCOF XIV), which was hosted virtually on Tuesday 17th May 2022.
According to the Met Service, both forecast products are interactive to some degree, and provide warning information on potential hazardous air pollution conditions that can degrade air quality. They have been designed in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards and guidelines.
The seven-day Saharan Dust Haze Index Forecast provides a forecast dust-risk level for each day as plumes shown at the top. When the user hovers over the plumes, the maximum dust concentration value for that day will be shown. It also provides a forecast dust-risk level for every three hours over the next seven days, at the bottom of the image. The page also has metadata, a legend and suggested actions.
“Saharan dust has become a serious local concern in recent times due the increased frequency of dust haze days and its significant impact on human health, the environment, and socio-economic well-being,” the TTMS release points out, observing that the country currently is at the peak of the Saharan dust season.
The Met Service notes the Air Quality Index Forecast is of a similar nature to the dust haze index but is based on the forecast maximum concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) over a 24-hour period.
“These new products are based on model forecast output only, and do not consider localized sources of dust or particulate matter from for example: industrial emissions, bush fires, traffic emissions, and other local secondary dust or particulate matter sources,” the Met Service advises. “Therefore, they may not always match local observed levels.”
