Air Quality Website for Melbourne Australian Open 2020

Chas Tennis

G.O.A.T.
See Pm2.5 in Melbourne over the last week. 24 hour clock. Present time in Melbourne is ahead of us, sometimes next day, and on the right.


Purple air is very hazardous. Green is good and may reflect effects of the rain on the smoke this week in Melbourne.

UPDATE - Sunday 19 Jan - When I go to the site above and view the entire continent of Australia the air quality looks very good.

I just found this and have to check that the color code used is the same as the EPA Air Quality Index (AQI). UPDATE - see post #7 the color code being displayed is probably equivalent to the EPA AQI but that is not clear to me.

To do something about the air quality in and around your home and your tennis courts -

For air quality near your home and tennis courts search Purple Air _ Maps _ and move to your location or search your city. The circles with black rings are indoor sensors and those with no ring are outdoor sensors. These sensors only measure particulate pollution, not ozone and other pollutants. pm2.5 is a nasty pollutant and the EPA has assigned color codes to indicate the degree of hazard.

I moved to California last year and have asthma. It does not rain here for several months in a row. High winds come up in the fall when everything is driest and that causes fires as you have seen on TV news.

What can you do?

One thing that helps considerably is to know where the smoke is, how bad it is , and to know what the smoke level is in your home. You can view outside conditions around your home on the internet. One source is the site with PurpleAir sensors. You need an indoor sensor of your own to measure in your home.

Search PurpleAir
Maps

Type in your city or state.

Inside each circle is a number. The numbers are EPA Air Quality Index for particle size <2.5 micrometers measurements from PurpleAir sensors.

The sensors with black rings around them are indoor sensors.

The sensors with no rings are outdoor sensors.

If you click on the sensor circle it shows the history of sensor readings for a few days.

The sensors will also read particle size 10 micrometers. Temp and humidity and well as the direct densities of 2.5 & 10 um in ugm/M^3 plus several raw count measumrents. The EPA highlights both PM 2.5 Air Quality Indexes and Ozone parts per billion as two of the most hazardous air pollutants.

If you know the outdoor Air Quality Index you know when
1) to play tennis or not
2) when to open windows or not

If you know the indoor Air Quality Index
3) when to use indoor air cleaners such as HEPA air cleaners.
4) when to open windows when cooking makes the indoor air of your home very high in pollutants.

There are many sources of information on the hazards of small particulates in the air and ozone. Lately, they say that particulates can get into your blood stream and add to the risks of strokes and cardiovascular disease.

This is how bad the air can become. Also, note the contributing factors such as farmers burning vegetation to clear land. In California, they are considering increasing 'controlled burns' as a measure to reduce wildfires.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50280390

.

Information on Air Qaulity Index (AQI).
 
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Cashman

Hall of Fame
This issue has been pretty overblown. Air quality in Melbourne isn’t as good as usual, but it is much better than a lot of ATP venues.

For example the Maharashtra Open starts the week after the AO. Pune currently has particulate pollution levels three times higher than Melbourne.

There was a period where smoke was quite bad, but it was always going to be temporary.
 

Keendog

Professional
This issue has been pretty overblown. Air quality in Melbourne isn’t as good as usual, but it is much better than a lot of ATP venues.

For example the Maharashtra Open starts the week after the AO. Pune currently has particulate pollution levels three times higher than Melbourne.

There was a period where smoke was quite bad, but it was always going to be temporary.

You obviously don't have asthma or anything. It has been horrendous and only cleared up in the last couple of days due to rain. Without rain we would've been f'ed. Athletes are often not allowed the over the counter asthma meds either as they are steroidal
 

Cashman

Hall of Fame
You obviously don't have asthma or anything. It has been horrendous and only cleared up in the last couple of days due to rain. Without rain we would've been f'ed. Athletes are often not allowed the over the counter asthma meds either as they are steroidal
Air quality has been bad, but no worse than normal air quality in places like India where outdoor ATP events are regularly held.

The tournament was never at risk.
 

Chas Tennis

G.O.A.T.
Air quality has been bad, but no worse than normal air quality in places like India where outdoor ATP events are regularly held.

The tournament was never at risk.

This website has a very informative history.

The AQIs shown are daily averages.

The worst day appeared to be Jan 15th at daily average (McLeod) AQI of 272.

Jan 15 qualifer matches. Click men's & women's singles.

On Jan 15th, it looks as if 30 men's matches were played and one match cancelled. 31 women's matches were played.
 
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Cashman

Hall of Fame
Yes, and during the same period Pune peaked at over 300.

The smoke pollution has been bad, but it’s still better than a lot of places in the world where the ATP happily host outdoor tournaments.
 

Chas Tennis

G.O.A.T.
UPDATE - On more careful reading this appears to apply to Perth and Western Australia. I am assuming EPA AQI color code vs raw measurements applies to the Melbourne data.

This webpage explains and shows Australian color code vs EPA color code vs raw measurements in micrograms per cubic meter. The raw scale is a measurement and the color scales are assigned to indicate hazard.

The color codes for Australia and EPA AQI are significantly different vs the raw measurements.

However, this statement is made and I assume it applies to the aqicn data in the displayed website charts. But it is not clear to me.

"For now, we will keep the using the US EPA standard, simply because it is the one we use for the overall Australia."
 
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