Development of Fuzzy-Based Air Quality Health Index

Abstract

India currently uses the maximum operator-based National Air Quality Index (NAQI), which considers only the most dominant pollutant at a time. This approach oversimplifies the complex nature of air pollution and fails to account for the simultaneous exceedance of multiple pollutants over the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). To address this limitation, a new Fuzzy-based Air Quality Health Index (FAQHI) was developed using assessed ambient air quality at three distinct locations of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. This index incorporates five pollutants (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, SO₂, NO₂, and CO) along with exposure parameters such as population sensitivity, location sensitivity, and population density. By applying fuzzy logic, which effectively handles uncertainty, FAQHI provides a more comprehensive assessment of air quality. A comparison with NAQI reveals that FAQHI is more stringent, especially in sensitive and densely populated areas, offering a better reflection of health risks.