The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) on Saturday completed the project “Live Environmental Monitoring Website” with Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD)’s financial support in collaboration with the Education Institutions for Development of Indigenous Technologies programme. The project was initiated under the supervision of Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Director General Dr Shagufta Shahjahan to develop indigenous environmental pollution control and monitoring technologies. The objective of the website is to monitor the environmental parameters of air pollution on low-cost technologies.
There are 6 to 7 sensors working all over the city including the areas of Baghbanpura, Garhi Shahu, The Upper Mall, Awan Town, Cantonment and Defence (Phases II and III). The sensors will be used to monitor the amount of humidity, temperature, carbon monoxide, ozone, oxides of nitrogen and sulphurs. The software and hardware developed during this project are low-cost sensors which show the results on the website http://view.lums.edu.pk, after every five minutes. The sensors have the capability to work 24 hours a day whereas the hardware used in this project has long-term sustainability with low cost and covers the maximum area of the city.
The sensors are also connected to the EPD air-quality mobile van systems and give minimum and maximum values with graphical prints. Shahjahan said the website was useful for the students as well as citizens and hoped it would soon monitor air quality of other cities as well. Provisional Environment Secretary Sajjad Saleem Hotiana will formally launch the website in a ceremony at LUMS on May 16.
