• A new partnership will see Africa Weather use a unique AI and IoT-powered system to analyse air quality in South Africa.
• The South African Consortium of Air Quality Monitoring (SACAQM) says the system uses AI to analyse air quality and generate reports based on the analyses.
• Air quality monitoring is important for the health of South Africans and for combating climate change.

A new partnership between the South African Consortium of Air Quality Monitoring (SACAQM) and AfricaWeather will see artificial intelligence used among other new technologies to give more efficient readings of the country’s air quality.

The improvements have the potential of improving the health of South Africans and support global efforts towards carbon neutrality and turning back climate change.

SACAQM comprises a number of government and research institutions such as Wits University and is looking to deliver efficient, low-cost and internet of things (IoT) powered air quality monitoring system. It has now launched a unique low-power wireless air quality monitoring and AI-powered analysis system and it is letting AfricaWeather make use of it.

“This partnership combines our expertise in air quality with AfricaWeather’s leadership in weather intelligence,” says Professor Bruce Mellado, executive director of SACAQM, Professor at the School of Physics at Wits University.

“Together, we’re pushing the boundaries of what technology can achieve for environmental health.”

As for AfricaWeather which is piloting SACAQM’s novel innovation, it says that this new start is just the beginning of what’s possible.

The company offers customers personalised weather risk management services to a number of markets. It operates the South Africa Total Lightning Network across the breadth of the country, online and tracking meteorological changes every hour of every day.

“Integrating AI_r technology into our offerings enhances our ability to deliver actionable insights,” enthused Ryan Kobus, AfricaWeather’s CEO. According to a report from Wits University, the system also makes use of generative AI, the likes one can chat to like ChatGPT, for automated reporting of air quality.

As air quality readings are taken, AI analyses the readings and the generative side of the AI then delivers actionable and understandable reports based on them for the benefit of Africa Weather customers in South Africa.

[Image – Photo by tebogo losaba on Unsplash]