Highlighting Italy's 'leading role' in environmental research and in the development of sustainable long-term strategies to improve the quality of life in African cities, Italian researchers from CNR, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Iss) and Arpa of the Liguria Region participated in an online seminar entitled 'Air Quality Data Analytics and Machine Learning' where they presented studies on air pollution analysis. This is according to a statement issued by the Italian Embassy in Dakar.
"Air pollution represents one of the main challenges for African cities, where rapid urbanisation, population growth and industrialisation combine to lead to critical air quality conditions," the note premised.
The seminar was organised by the African Society for Air Quality (Asaq), 'to discuss the potential of artificial intelligence technologies in air quality monitoring'.
At the invitation of the Scientific Attaché of the Dakar Embassy, Eugenio Cavallo, the event was attended by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (Isac) and the Institute of Atmospheric Pollution (IIA), both belonging to the National Research Council (CNR); the Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection (Iss); and the Ligurian Environmental Protection Agency (Arpa). "The Italian researchers presented the results of their studies, illustrating experiences and innovative solutions for the analysis of air pollution," informs the note from the Italian diplomatic office in Senegal. "Through the use of Data Analytics and Machine Learning algorithms, they showed how it is possible to integrate and analyse large quantities of environmental data, collected both from ground-based sensors and through satellite observations.
The main sources of pollution include vehicular traffic, domestic biomass combustion, industrial emissions, and desert dust,' the note says, adding that 'the consequences of this phenomenon are serious, with a significant impact on public health, the environment, and the quality of urban life.
"The significant participation of the Italian scientific community in this event underlines the leading role that our country plays in research and innovation applied to environmental monitoring. The adoption of emerging technologies not only offers concrete solutions to improve air quality in African cities, but also contributes to the development of long-term sustainable strategies needed to address global challenges related to air pollution and the improvement of quality of life," the statement concludes.
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