CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia (Gaia) held a forum entitled 'AQHI: A New Approach to Public Health Protection' on 30 January. Mr.Dave Ho, principal environmental protection officer (air policy) of Environmental Protection Department (EPD), was the keynote speaker.  

Mr. Ho said that the previous Air Pollution Index (API) system, originated from the US, was not able to reflect the combined effects of different air pollutants and did not address concerns about health risks posed by air pollution.  EPD invited in 2008 experts from CUHK and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to research on the topic and make recommendations for improvement. EPD subsequently accepted the expert team's recommendation and launched in 2013 the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) system. The new system enables reporting of air quality in a timely manner, informs the public of potential health risks from exposure to different levels of air pollution, and gives advice for them to take precautionary actions to protect their health. 

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