TrueAQi provides an air quality index based on the hourly pollutant levels whereas Standard AQI is calculated by aggregating the pollutant levels over a period of 24 hours. The standard AQI according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is capped at 500. Any reading beyond this is grouped under the “severe plus” category, indicating a public health emergency.
| Criteria | TrueAQi Hourly AQI | Standard AQI 24-Hour Aggregate |
Real-Time Awareness | Provides immediate updates, enabling the public to respond to sudden spikes in pollution. | Less useful, as it doesn’t reflect current conditions. |
| Public Alerts | Better for issuing timely warnings during short-term pollution events like fires or industrial accidents. | Effective for generalized public advisories but slower to adapt to real-time changes. |
Event-Based Pollution | Captures short-term pollution events (e.g., traffic jams, fireworks) accurately. | Misses short-term spikes due to averaging. |
Outdoor Activity Planning | Helps individuals plan activities by avoiding high-pollution hours. | Less useful since it doesn’t account for hourly variations. |
Policy Enforcement | Enables authorities to implement and monitor immediate interventions like road closures or industry shutdowns. | Effective for assessing long-term compliance but slow for real-time enforcement. |
Health Risk for Acute Exposure | Ideal for identifying risks from short-term exposure to pollutants like ozone and NO₂. | Focused on chronic exposure risks; less relevant for immediate health concerns. |
Dynamic Reporting | Offers flexibility in tracking trends over hours, making it suitable for apps and real-time dashboards. | Suitable for daily reports but lacks immediacy. |
Long-Term Health Assessments | Less effective for understanding chronic exposure or long-term air quality trends. | More relevant for chronic exposure studies and policy benchmarking. |
Data Stability | Can be noisy due to high variability in hourly pollutant levels. | Smoothens fluctuations for more stable and reliable reporting. |
Policy Benchmarking | Less useful for comparison against standards based on daily exposure limits. | Aligns with global standards for long-term air quality analysis. |
TrueAQi vs Standard AQI