User Roles & Goals
This page is for describing the types of user that vAirify is likely to have, and for each help us think about:
- Their role / job
- What their goals are
- What their frequent tasks might be
- The tools they use for those tasks
- Their frustrations / pain points
By understanding these we can help maximise the value of vAirfiy.
(Note that some of the content below is conjecture and has not been validated).
Works in the forecast department.
To make sure that forecast data is available and useful.
To respond to reports of data inaccuracies.
Validation reports of the CAMS global forecast model are available at https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/eqa-reports-global-services. These are done quarterly, at the time of writing (23rd May) the most recent report covered the period up to end November 2023.
There is also a pair of CAMS forecast evaluation portals. Firstly https://global-eqc-server.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/, the data sources include https://airnow.gov/ which provides current air pollution readings for the US. An example of the data available is shown below, which is for PM10 particles in Vancouver, screenshot taken on 30th May 2024.
Secondly https://global-evaluation.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/ - there is a delay before evaluation data is uploaded, for example for in-situ Carbon Monoxide it is a one month delay. Data is available for Europe & China. An example of the data available is shown below, screenshot taken on 30th May 2024.
The AirNow site includes maps of the air quality in the US:
A few other network-specific evaluation activities and international model inter-comparison results are listed at https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/global-services.
The tools above are provided by ECMWF partners. In addition to these there is also an internal tool that has been developed directly by the ECMWF.
Official air quality measurements do not have good coverage of the world, which limits the model evaluation that can be done.
There is a significant delay between the occurrence of a large variation between a forecast and an actual reading, and that variation being known to the ECMWF.