This Environment Dashboard project tracks air pollution in Nepal. Pratiman-Neema Memorial Foundation (PNMF), working with the Provincial Five Ministry of Social Development (MOSD), has initiated an air pollution tracking program in Province Five. Building on the work done by the students of UNM's Nepal Study Center (NSC) and in collaboration with PNMF, this program has installed several PurpleAir sensors across several cities with the help of the Provincial Government. These sensors measure outdoor PM2.5 and PM1.0 levels.

PM, or "particulate matter," is a measure of the amount of course, inhalable particles suspended in air in migrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 specifically measures the quantity of particles that have a diameter of 2.5 microns or less. Similarly, PM1.0 measures particles with a diameter of 1.0 micron or less. PM1.0 is a sub measurement of PM2.5, since PM2.5 includes particles with diameters less than 1 micron. These small particles are the most damaging to health, and have been linked to many conditions including lung cancer and chronic lung disease. The World Health Organization has designated airborne particulates as a Group 1 Carcinogen. Various research studies have found that finer particulate matter (PM1.0) may play a greater role than PM2.5 in association with cardivascular disease.

Table 1 shows EPA air quality index (PM2.5 or PM1.0) ranges, see here for more information.