What is Riga airTEXT?
Riga airTEXT is a free public service providing air quality alerts by SMS text or email and 3-day forecasts of air quality, pollen, UV and temperature. Operation of the service is financed by the Municipality of Riga; the service is operated by Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC) Ltd and SIA Estonian, Latvian & Lithuanian Environment (ELLE).
This service only provides forecasts. Measurements of current air quality are available from the webpages of the Department of Housing and Environment of Riga City Council and the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre.
Riga airTEXT air quality maps at street-level resolution are created using CERC's world-leading urban air quality dispersion modelling system ADMS-Urban. The service was developed by CERC and ELLE. The original development of the service was supported by CAMS, the EU's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
What does the forecast mean?
Recommendations are provided by the European Environment Agency for both the general population and for sensitive people; the latter group includes both adults and children with respiratory problems and adults with heart conditions.
| Air Quality Level | General population | Sensitive people |
|---|---|---|
| Good | The air quality is good. Enjoy your usual outdoor activities. | The air quality is good. Enjoy your usual outdoor activities. |
| Fair | Enjoy your usual outdoor activities. | Enjoy your usual outdoor activities. |
| Moderate | Enjoy your usual outdoor activities. | Consider reducing intense outdoor activities, if you experience symptoms. |
| Poor | Consider reducing intense activities outdoors, if you experience symptoms such as sore eyes, a cough or sore throat. | Consider reducing physical activities, particularly outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms. |
| Very Poor | Consider reducing intense activities outdoors, if you experience symptoms such as sore eyes, a cough or sore throat. | Reduce physical activities, particularly outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms. |
| Extremely Poor | Reduce physical activities outdoors. | Avoid physical activities outdoors. |
How are the forecasts made?
Weather forecasts, CAMS forecasts of pollution across Europe and detailed data on pollution sources across Riga are fed into the ADMS-Urban air pollution model to produce the air quality forecasts. The data on pollution sources in Riga is based on annual average emissions and does not include day-to-day variations in the emissions. Additional information on the emission sources, which are included in the Riga air quality model is available in the Riga air quality plan for 2021-2025 (in Latvian only). The concentrations of four pollutants are calculated: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulates (PM10 and PM2.5) and ozone (O3). From the concentrations the daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for each pollutant is derived. The AQI corresponding to the pollutant which gives the highest value of the AQI is the value shown, so the AQI shown may correspond to a different pollutant (NO2, PM10, PM2.5 or O3) on different days and in different locations. Note that other pollutants, such as benzene, can be relevant to the air quality in some areas, however these pollutants are not included in the AQI definition. Forecast values of temperature are supplied by DTN. Forecast values for UV and pollen are supplied by CAMS.
Air Quality Index (AQI)
The European Air Quality Index (AQI) converts air pollution concentration levels for the four major pollutants (NO2, PM10, PM2.5 or O3) into a 6-point scale, from "Good" through to "Extremely poor"; the concentration thresholds for each band and for each pollutant are given in the table below. For more information please see the European Environment Agency webpage on the European Air Quality Index.
| Band Descriptor | O3 1-hour μg/m3 |
NO2 1-hour μg/m3 |
PM10 Running 24-hour μg/m3 |
PM2.5 Running 24-hour μg/m3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 0-50 | 0-40 | 0-20 | 0-10 |
| Fair | 50-100 | 40-90 | 20-40 | 10-20 |
| Moderate | 100-130 | 90-120 | 40-50 | 20-25 |
| Poor | 130-240 | 120-230 | 50-100 | 25-50 |
| Very Poor | 240-380 | 230-340 | 100-150 | 50-75 |
| Extremely Poor | >380 | >340 | >150 | >75 |
UV
This is a forecast of maximum hourly solar UV over a 24-hr period. The UV level may be LOW, MODERATE, HIGH or VERY HIGH. For advice on staying safe in the sun visit the Health Inspectorate website.
Pollen
This is a daily grass and birch pollen forecast and may be LOW, MODERATE, HIGH, or VERY HIGH.
Temperature
These are the minimum and maximum hourly temperatures predicted over a 24-hour period. The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control of Latvia website provides advice on staying cool in hot weather.
Zones
For the project we have divided the Riga city area into 7 zones. The following Riga districts are included in these zones:
| Zone | Districts |
|---|---|
| Centre |
|
| Teika/Purvciems/Dārzciems/Forštate |
|
| Pārdaugava |
|
| Port |
|
| East |
|
| South |
|
| West |
|
Partners
Operation of Riga airTEXT is financed by the Municipality of Riga under annual contract with ELLE and CERC.
In 2021 ELLE developed the Riga city air quality plan for 2021-2025.
CERC operates air quality forecasting and alert services for a range of clients.
The original development of the Riga airTEXT service was supported by CAMS, the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
Terms & Conditions
By subscribing to receive these alerts you agree to the following terms and conditions on the service. Data controllerFor data protection purposes Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants Ltd (CERC) is the data controller. Purposes of data processing and lawful basis
We use your personal data only for the following purposes.
- To deliver the alerts to you
- For statistical purposes to improve the service, for instance to help us understand whether particular age groups are more likely to use the service
- (If you gave consent when subscribing) to contact you by telephone, email or post for follow-up surveys to help us improve the service.
CERC, ELLE and the Riga airTEXT partner organisations will only exchange your personal information with third parties when this is necessary in order to deliver the alerts or conduct surveys. This may include transferring data outside the EU to the following services: MailChimp our chosen email automation platform, MessageBird and OpenText our chosen platforms for SMS text message and voicemail automation, and SurveyMonkey our chosen automatic survey platform. Retention periods
We will retain your personal data only while you are subscribed to receive alerts. Your rights
You have a number of rights under the General Data Protection Regulation with regard to your personal data. You have the right to request a copy of your personal data, to rectify your personal data if it is incorrect, to restrict processing, to ask for your data to be erased, to withdraw consent for processing where you have provided it, and the right to data portability. How to complain
If you have a complaint you can contact us via the details on the Contact Us section. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Latvian data protection supervisory authority: the Data State Inspectorate. Limitations of the forecasting system and liability for your health
Air pollution forecasts are inherently uncertain and their accuracy is not guaranteed. In addition, air pollution is not the only cause of health problems. CERC, ELLE and the Riga airTEXT partner organisations accept no liability for your health nor for any action you take based on the forecasts or alerts or the consequences of your actions. The air pollution forecasts and health advice provided on the website are purely indicative. Service provision
CERC will endeavour to provide air pollution forecasts and alerts twice daily but accepts no legal liability for failure to provide these forecasts and alerts nor the consequences of any actions you may take arising from such failure. Copyright
The forecasts, text summaries and forecast maps are the intellectual property of CERC and may not redistributed or published by any means without the prior written permission of CERC.
