Air Pollution Monitoring System Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Cloud Computing

Abstract

Air pollution is the availability of pollutants and other particles in the air which affect its quality. The common sources of air pollution include vehicle and industrial emissions, bushfire and volatile organic compounds. Over 80% of the urban dwellers are exposed to air pollution especially in low and middle-income countries. With most African countries embracing industrialization coupled with rapid urbanization, air pollution is swiftly becoming a serious concern due to the associated health risks. Globally, about 4.2 million people die annually from diseases attributed to air pollution. This paper presents a mechanism of using sensors to remotely monitor air pollution. The monitored data are then sent to the cloud database in real time using an internet connection. The materials used include an Arduino Uno, ESP8266 module, carbon monoxide and smoke sensors. The approach involves connecting an ESP8266 wireless module, smoke and carbon monoxide sensors to the Arduino board using jumpers. Results revealed that data is collected by the sensors, processed by Arduino and sent to the cloud for storage and analysis. The cloud service visualizes the received data in a graphical format for easy analysis whereas a spreadsheet document can also be extracted for offline analysis. In conclusion, a system capable of monitoring smoke and carbon monoxide pollutants has been proposed. This system is effective in sending the monitored data to a cloud database in real time. Policy makers, governments, and different stakeholders such as environment authorities should embrace such systems and also sensitize the citizens on the dangers of air pollution.