Airqoon Brief is an independent data platform that provides daily air quality analysis across Turkey. By combining data from the national monitoring network and Airqoon sensors, it produces comparable, transparent, and machine-readable air quality reports for all 81 provinces.
Core principles behind Airqoon Brief
Air quality data should be accessible to everyone. We present raw data from government stations and independent sensors in a standardized format, making it openly available.
Evaluating all 81 provinces using the same methodology and index system enables meaningful cross-regional comparisons. Data can be tracked on daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly bases.
All data is available via JSON API, RSS feed, and structured data formats. Researchers, developers, and AI systems can access the data programmatically.
Trend detection, anomaly analysis, and seasonal comparisons are performed using automated statistical methods. Data-driven insights are presented without editorial intervention.
Data from two distinct sources is combined for analysis
Hourly measurements are collected from ~360 Continuous Monitoring Stations (SIM) operated by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Monitored pollutants include PM10, PM2.5, SO₂, NO₂, O₃, and CO.
Data from Airqoon's proprietary low-cost sensor network provides supplementary measurements in areas outside the coverage of government stations. Sensor data is corrected using calibration algorithms.
How we generate suggestions from live data
The District Air Quality and Health Advisories sections shown on big-city pages (Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Bursa) are automatically generated suggestions derived from live air quality readings collected from multiple independent sources — government monitoring stations and community sensor networks.
Raw pollutant concentrations (PM10, PM2.5, NO₂, SO₂, O₃, CO) are collected in real time from all available stations and converted into a single UHKI (Unified Air Quality Index) value using Turkey's official breakpoint tables. This index is what drives the district colour scale and advisory thresholds.
Each monitoring station is assigned to a city district using point-in-polygon matching against official boundary data. A district's AQI is the mean of all stations inside it. Districts with no station coverage are shown in grey.
Advisory cards are generated by applying fixed thresholds to the calculated AQI. They are intended as general awareness guidance for three groups — sensitive health groups, mothers and children, and outdoor athletes. They do not replace advice from a healthcare professional or official public health authorities.
Sensor networks may report higher variability than reference-grade government stations. Readings can be affected by local sources, calibration drift, or temporary outages. A district's advisory is only as reliable as the station coverage within it — a single station in a large district should be interpreted with caution.
Turkey's official air quality assessment system
Airqoon Brief uses Turkey's official index system, UHKI (Ulusal Hava Kalitesi İndeksi), for air quality assessment. This index is based on limit values established by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Sub-indices calculated for each pollutant determine the overall air quality level.
| Concentration | Index | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 0–50 | 0–50 | Good |
| 51–100 | 51–100 | Moderate |
| 101–260 | 101–150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive |
| 261–400 | 151–200 | Unhealthy |
| 401–520 | 201–300 | Very Unhealthy |
| 521–— | 301–500 | Hazardous |
| Concentration | Index | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 0–25 | 0–50 | Good |
| 25–50 | 51–100 | Moderate |
| 50–90 | 101–150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive |
| 90–180 | 151–200 | Unhealthy |
| 180–300 | 201–300 | Very Unhealthy |
| 300–— | 301–500 | Hazardous |
| Concentration | Index | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 0–100 | 0–50 | Good |
| 101–250 | 51–100 | Moderate |
| 251–500 | 101–150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive |
| 501–850 | 151–200 | Unhealthy |
| 851–1100 | 201–300 | Very Unhealthy |
| 1101–— | 301–500 | Hazardous |
| Concentration | Index | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 0–100 | 0–50 | Good |
| 101–200 | 51–100 | Moderate |
| 201–500 | 101–150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive |
| 501–1000 | 151–200 | Unhealthy |
| 1001–2000 | 201–300 | Very Unhealthy |
| 2001–— | 301–500 | Hazardous |
| Concentration | Index | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 0–120 | 0–50 | Good |
| 121–160 | 51–100 | Moderate |
| 161–180 | 101–150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive |
| 181–240 | 151–200 | Unhealthy |
| 241–700 | 201–300 | Very Unhealthy |
| 701–— | 301–500 | Hazardous |
| Concentration | Index | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5500 | 0–50 | Good |
| 5501–10000 | 51–100 | Moderate |
| 10001–16000 | 101–150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive |
| 16001–24000 | 151–200 | Unhealthy |
| 24001–32000 | 201–300 | Very Unhealthy |
| 32001–— | 301–500 | Hazardous |
From data collection to analysis
Hourly average measurements are collected from government stations and Airqoon sensors. Negative values, physically impossible readings, and sensor error codes (e.g., -9999) are automatically filtered.
Hourly averages from all stations within a province are combined into a single provincial average. Provinces with at least 50% station coverage are included in rankings.
Sub-indices are calculated for each pollutant using UHKI breakpoints. Provincial composite AQI is determined as 60% of the highest sub-index plus 40% of the average of all sub-indices.
Weekly changes, year-over-year comparisons, regional anomalies (>2σ deviation), and seasonal deviations (>1.5σ) are automatically detected using statistical methods.
Relevant regulations and standards
Published in the Official Gazette No. 26898 dated 06.06.2008, this regulation establishes air quality limit values and monitoring standards in Turkey.
Provides the fundamental legal framework for environmental protection, improvement, and pollution prevention.
Under Law No. 4982, environmental data is classified as publicly accessible information.
Directives 2008/50/EC and 2004/107/EC, referenced in Turkey's EU accession process, served as primary sources for establishing UHKI limit values.