Ambient air quality monitoring has been a complex process for quite a long time. Not many technological advancements have been made and primitive monitoring modes that took days and even weeks were used. But gradually the science of air quality monitoring has evolved. Researchers and scientists have come up with several methods, relaxing the process and its complications. Today, we do not have to rely on one single method to generate environmental data. A wide variety of monitoring methods are available for different monitoring purposes.

At present, we have four major air monitoring methods – sensor-based, air monitor stations, open-path systems, and gravimetric systems. Let’s look at each of them briefly.