Pollution Data for Hobart
An ambient air quality monitoring station for Hobart was established in July 2000, near the south-western shore of the Prince of Wales Bay, approximately 6km north of the city centre. However, after a review of the Tasmanian Air Monitoring Plan, this site was found to give an inadequate representation of the air quality in residential areas of greater Hobart. Therefore in 2005, the station was relocated to its current position at New Town near the Tasmanian Hockey Centre.
The station has been upgraded as part of a four year $800 000 program to meet the requirements of the National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) for Ambient Air Quality 
.
To view Tasmania's progress at meeting the Air NEPM see the Air NEPM Annual Reports.
Graph of daily pollution readings.
Graphs of daily pollution readings for each month.
Graphs of daily pollution readings for each month.
Monthly graphs of particulate pollution 1 January - 31 December.
Graph of daily pollution readings from 2000 to mid-2004.
Graph of average monthly pollution readings over four-year period to 2004. Woodsmoke pollution is associated with the cooler months of the year when the days are still and when woodheaters are used to a greater degree. Therefore it is not surprising that exceedences of air pollution standards generally occur between May and August.
Graph showing annual pollution readings for period 2000 to mid-2004.
Graph showing number of exceedences to air pollution goals 1999 to 30 June 2004.
Graph of daily pollution readings in 2003.
Graph of daily pollution readings in 2002.
Graph of daily pollution readings in 2001.
Graph of daily pollution readings in 2000.
Many people are aware of high wood smoke concentrations at some time during the day and may be later surprised if the day doesn’t breach the national standard. The graph for the hypothetical day shows that relatively high concentrations can be experienced for long periods at a time, but because of the lower concentrations experienced at night and during the late morning, the daily average falls below the national standard. The pollution levels at the Prince of Wales Bay monitoring station are not extremely high, even on an exceedence (high pollution) day. Unlike Launceston, Hobart rarely experiences the strong inversions that trap pollution close to the ground causing high air pollution readings.
See also
Further Information
For more information, please contact:
Air Specialist
134 Macquarie Street
GPO Box 1751
Hobart TAS 7001
Phone: 03 6233 3373
Fax: 03 6233 3800
Email: EnvironmentEnquiries@environment.tas.gov.au