DOHA: To better understand the baseline air quality near FIFA World Cup 2022 stadiums, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has launched a pilot project with Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI).
The project is to collaborate and exchange knowledge about how to better monitor air quality in relation to Qatar 2022 activities. This includes the installation of an initial QEERI Air Quality Monitoring Station (AQMS) at Al Thumama Stadium.
This station will continuously measure air quality, including gases such as ozone, nitrogen oxides, methane, as well as particulate matter and meteorological parameters, including temperature, wind speed and direction in high-time resolution.
Collaborative bonds
Installing AQMS stations also forges collaborative bonds between researchers and national stakeholders by collecting reliable data that will help quantify the impact of air quality on environment, energy and health systems in the country. This will create a national legacy built around data and form a repository of knowledge about local air quality.
“Stadiums are the heart of any football tournament. They are where the most cherished of memories are created, and to honour this humanistic component of them, we have built all of our stadiums with long-term sustainability and environmental management as core concepts, including dust management principles to ensure better air quality,” said SC Sustainability & Environment Senior Manager Bodour Al Meer.
Al Meer added: “To ensure tangible and credible sustainability outcomes, our collaboration with QEERI will provide us with the necessary data to make sure that we are making the best decisions possible to improve the air quality in and around stadiums,” Meer added.
Health and productivity
Mohammed Ayoub, QEERI’s senior research director of the Environment and Sustainability Centre, said: “Good air quality is critical to a community’s health and productivity. Our partnership with the SC focusses on understanding the quality of the air in and around FIFA World Cup 2022 venues, assessing its potential impact on participants and developing a range of solutions to manage air quality throughout the tournament.”
He added: “Building a knowledge base and improving national capacities to enhance environmental sustainability in Qatar is a cornerstone of QEERI’s mandate. This collaboration will serve to improve air quality management in our country for years to come.”