Executive Summary
AIRCHAMP (Air Quality Intelligence and Proactive Health-Centred Policy Innovation in Malaysian Communities) is an 18-month strategic ambient air quality initiative executed in partnership between GO AQS and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Funding for the project is provided by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) Air Quality Fund.
The project deploys a high-density PM2.5 monitoring network across targeted urban school districts in Senawang and Nilai, located in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. AIRCHAMP aims to translate localized particulate matter readings into dynamic, health-centered national policies designed to protect urban populations across Malaysia.
Project Objectives & National Impact
AIRCHAMP shifts air quality governance from a passive, reactive posture to dynamic, proactive policy action. The project targets systemic impact through five key deliverables:
Standardized National Hybrid Monitoring Network: Deploys high-density low-cost sensors co-located with reference-grade instrumentation to validate data, allowing the Department of Environment (DOE) to fill critical urban monitoring gaps.
National Ambient Air Quality Standards Revisions: Ingests high-resolution baseline models into data workflows to support updates to Malaysia’s Air Quality Roadmap and align national 2030 PM2.5 targets with WHO guidelines.
Dynamic School Health Protocols: Establishes localized safety protocols where real-time PM2.5 spikes trigger immediate mitigation actions in schools, transitioning away from broad regional alerts.
13th Malaysia Plan “Planetary Health” Integration: Institutionalizes a health-focused air quality intervention framework as a national Key Result Area for inter-ministerial execution.
Public Accountability & FAIR Data Principles: Disseminates open data using the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) framework to translate pollutant metrics into actionable life-expectancy indicators for public and civil advocacy.
Monitoring Network Deployment
The 18-month project lifecycle is structured across five interconnected work packages led by UPM and GO AQS
Hybrid Deployment: 22 low-cost sensors running alongside selected government reference air quality stations.
Power & Connectivity: Fully autonomous operation using integrated solar-battery power systems and LTE 4G cellular connectivity.
Open Accessibility: Data logged under CC-BY-4.0 licensing, featuring station coordinates to five decimal places, physical units (μg/m3), machine-readable metadata, and real-time integration with OpenAQ.
Sampling Resolution: PM2.5 data logged at 5-minute intervals to capture transient smoke/dust events, aggregated into 1-hour, 24-hour, and annual metrics (μg/m3) to maintain comparability with regulatory networks.
FAIR Data Principles: All datasets adhere to Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) standards.
AIRCHAMP.ORG
See our network in action, recent field deployments, discover preliminary data, and national policy milestone updates.
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