Low-cost air quality sensors are a necessary part of the toolkit for improving air quality in Africa. At Afri-SET, we ensure that everyone interested in air quality (policy-makers, government employees, scientists, citizen scientists, and more!) has access to knowledge about best practices on generally using low-cost sensors and about how specific sensors they may wish to use perform in the African context.

Low-cost sensors, both particulate matter and gas sensors, are sensitive to many factors including environmental conditions (e.g. temperature) and pollution sources. Most sensors are made, tested, and calibrated in the Global North and therefore can be inaccurate when used in Africa. Afri-SET uses internationally recognized best practices to provide real-world performance evaluations for low-cost sensors being used in Africa. See our standard operating procedures for sensor evaluation here. See the evaluations completed at Afri-SET.