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PREV’AIR: Large‐scale air quality mapping and forecasting in Europe Volume 3, issue 3, Mai-Juin 2004

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Authors
Institut national de l’environnement industriel et des risques (INERIS), Parc technologique ALATA, BP2, 60550 Verneuil‐en‐Halatte <cecile.honoreineris.fr>. Institut Pierre‐Simon Laplace (IPSL), Laboratoire de météorologie dynamique, École polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau cedex. Agence de l’environnement et de la maîtrise de l’énergie (ADEME), 27, rue Louis Vicat, 75737 Paris cedex 15

Launched in April 2003, PREV’AIR is a system designed for large‐scale mapping and forecasting of air quality over Europe. It makes it possible to carry out diagnostic and prospective studies of such large‐scale air pollution at the same time as it delivers information about atmospheric pollutant concentrations on a daily basis, thus supporting the French national network for air quality monitoring. This paper provides a brief overview of the system architecture and the digital and mathematic tools and mapping (kriging) methods it uses. We also assess the system’s forecasting of ozone levels after its first six months of operation. Finally, we discuss the uses of such a system for public health purposes and present current and future developments.