US to expand air quality monitoring to Embassy in India

The US plans to expand air quality monitoring to some of its missions in countries like India, Vietnam and Mongolia to help raise awareness about the dangers of pollution.
The initiative announced yesterday by the State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency builds on the monitoring service that began five years ago at the US Embassy in Beijing.
"15 years ago, the EPA created a web-based platform called AirNow to give our citizens information in real time about the quality of the air that they're breathing, and they can make an informed decision about whether it is a good day to go for a run or whether they want to go outdoors at all or send their kids to a park to play," Secretary of State John Kerry said.

"Because of the success of that programme, we are today formalising a shared EPA-Department of State effort to expand EPA's AirNow system to diplomatic posts around the world," he said at the signing ceremony for the agreement to enhance post air quality monitoring and action overseas with EPA.
Kerry said in the coming months, AirNow will begin to operate in India and shortly after that, it will expand to Vietnam, to Mongolia, and other countries.
"Five years ago we launched AirNow-International in Shanghai, and we made further studies in other cities around the world, and a few weeks ago we announced that AirNow- International is going to be in India," Kerry said.

"We came out of the President's recent trip (to India) knowing that this was an issue of importance to the President, but also to India as well, and our experts will be taking off in a few weeks to get this programme started," he said.

Kerry highlighted that this effort is going to provide Foreign Service officers, military men and women, and US citizens living or just visiting abroad with better information about the air that they are breathing, so that they can make healthier choices.
Kerry cited China's example to show that awareness about pollution has led to action in many cases.

"We're not the only country in which this kind of greater awareness has actually led to action. Interestingly, in recent years, China has gotten a better sense of just how dangerous the levels of air pollution have become, and their citizens are increasingly demanding action," Kerry said.
"There was a time when poor visibility in cities like Beijing was blamed simply on excessive fog. But today, in part because of expanded air-quality monitoring in cities throughout China, the Chinese Government is now deeply committed to getting the pollution under control," he said.
Kerry hoped that the initiative would also expand international cooperation in curbing air pollution.