Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Nowcast (Air Quality Index)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   no consensus. Spartaz Humbug! 17:05, 23 September 2014 (UTC)

Nowcast (Air Quality Index)

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FailsWP:GNG There is no supporting evidence that the formula or algorithm itself is called the Nowcast. The algorithm is used to deliver a Nowcast on Air Quality which is simply a report on conditions as they occur. The algorithm is not notable and we have an article on the Air Quality Index. See also Nowcasting (meteorology). Cult of Green (talk) 00:41, 28 August 2014 (UTC)

Supporting evidence that the formula or algortithm is called the NowCast by the most authoritative sources (EPA's airnow website and EPA's own web site) are at this link:

http://airnow.supportportal.com/link/portal/23002/23002/Article/16118/How-Does-AirNow-Make-the-Current-PM2-5-Air-Quality-Index-AQI-maps

According to this webpage:

''To generate the map, AirNow has to convert the latest hourly monitored readings to the 24-hour AQI. We do this using a “NowCast” -- a combination of monitor data and air quality projections to show current air quality in the 24-hour AQI form. '' The link above contain this link on the EPA website for the details of the NowCast:

http://www.epa.gov/airnow/faq/Nowcast-formula.pptx

The title of this document is Computing the NowCast and the content contains the formula for computing the NowCast identical to the one in the NowCast Wikipedia Article.

See also pages 55-57 of this epa presentation: http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/sites/default/files/presentations/1_en_air_pollution_emergency_response_system_-_us_experience_1.pdf — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sfitzsi (talk • contribs) 03:17, 30 August 2014 (UTC)

Sfitzsi (talk) 11:27, 28 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of United States of America-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 01:13, 30 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Environment-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 01:14, 30 August 2014 (UTC)


 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.


 * Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, j⚛e deckertalk 06:48, 5 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Redirect Redirect to Air Quality Index and add a reference to sources for the formula. There is no reason that this formula should have its own article. Also note that it is used in the UK, as I found nowcasts for London, so it would be good to investigate how widely it is used and include that information. LaMona (talk) 15:56, 6 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Comment I support a redirect Cult of Green (talk) 06:56, 7 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Comment

Here is a reference to the formula: http://www.epa.gov/airnow/faq/Nowcast-formula.pptx I will add it to the NowCast article.

I disagree that that there is no reason the formula should have its own article.

Suppose I live in asia, and I check this link http://aqicn.org to see how the air quality is today (note the information on the bottom of the page saying the US air quality index (AQI) is used for the map). When I check today, the air quality index is red(unhealthy) and I decide my asthmatic child should not play outdoors at school. But when I check tomorrow the air quality index for the same hour of the previous day has changed. Now it is green (good). What has happened? Quite a mystery. The Nowcast formula clears it all up. Today, the weight of the last hour is 1/2 in the Nowcast formula (assuming the previous twelve hour concentrations are variable cmin/cmax<.5) used to compute the AQI, but tomorrow the same hour will only have a weight of 1/24 in the 24 hr average used to compute the AQI. So I am not dreaming, the air quality index that concerned me yesterday has changed from red to green. It is because the Nowcast used to compute todays AQI weights the previous hour (a lot) more than the 24 hour average that will be used to compute the AQI for the same hour tomorrow.

I think it is important to clear up this mystery, because so many people around the world use the EPA air quality index to plan their day, and gauge their health risk. The US EPA's AQI is a bit like the US dollar, it is being used as a sort of common currency to judge health risk from air pollution, especially in asia. The Nowcast deserves its own article, because the details are important.

I would certainly support an addition to the NowCast article to include the UK, but as I am not familiar with how the NowCast works in the UK I will have to leave this to others.

Sfitzsi (talk) 22:46, 12 September 2014 (UTC) 
 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.


 * Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, NorthAmerica1000 01:14, 13 September 2014 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.