The Ethiopian Meteorological Agency (EMA) installed on Wednesday its second air pollution monitoring station in Adama city of the Oromia Regional State to measure the level of pollution in the air and the quality of air at a cost of five million birr.
The station was inaugurated in the presence of the director-general of the Agency, the mayor of Adama, invited guests and members of the the diplomatic corps.
The station, which is constructed in the compound of the agency’s Adama branch, is expected to provide data that will help to measure the level of the pollution trends in the city. The data will also serve as a vital input for policymakers and stakeholders who work on air pollution and related issues, Abate Getachew, head of the Meteorological Research at EMA told The Reporter.
The station is expected to measure, monitor and analyze the level of emission of pollutant gases from vehicles and industries to the environment. It also measures and monitors the level of dust in the air.
According to Abate, the station in Adama mainly has five devices to monitor the level of ozone (O3) carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO), sulfur (S) and various dusts in the environment.
In addition, the station will help forecast the level of the pollution in the environment.
The rapid motorization with aged vehicles, poor maintenance practice, poor fuel quality, and inefficient public transport are the major causes for pollution, which is affecting public health.
Though different countries have their own standards in measuring the level of the pollution in the environment, Ethiopia has not prepared a standard so far. “The level of the pollution in the environment is reaching an alarming level, Abate told The Reporter.
The Government of Ethiopia officially established the National Meteorological Services Agency in December 31,1980.
It was at the end of the 19th century that missionaries who came to Ethiopia started conducting meteorological observations of Addis Ababa. From 1946-1949 government offices for agricultural sector carried out some preliminary meteorological tasks especially for locust control. However, due to the growing demands of meteorological information for safe operations of air transport, a unit that handles meteorological activity was also established in the early fifties under the Civil Aviation Department.
As the other economic and social sectors began to realize the importance of meteorological services the then unit was changed with the responsibility of giving assistance to non-aviation activities.
