DHAKA: Hong Kong on Friday announced a new air quality health index, the first in Asia to use the system, in its ongoing battle to combat air pollution.

The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), introduced in Canada in 2005, will replace the city`s nearly two-decades-old Air Pollution Index (API) amid growing concerns about the city`s air quality and a need for more comprehensive monitoring data.

The city`s leader Leung Chun-ying has pledged to make pollution one of his top priorities during his five-year term, with an official report saying it was the "greatest daily health risk" to the city`s residents.

The new system, which launches on December 30, monitors the concentration levels of multiple pollutants and also the health risks associated with them by measuring hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Source: ST

BDST: 1658 HRS, DEC 06, 2013