TL;DR: We’re excited to announce a powerful addition to the Clarity Dashboard: Air Quality (AQ) Alarms. Designed to give users timely insights into pollution events, this new feature makes it easier to stay informed and take action when air quality matters most. For more information on this Dashboard feature, see our Knowledge Base.
Why Air Quality Alarms?
In air quality management, timing can be everything. When you’re responsible for public health, operational safety, or emission compliance, timely notifications of elevated air pollutant levels can make a meaningful difference. AQ Alarms on the Clarity Dashboard help by automatically flagging high concentrations according to the custom criteria you put in place for your organization.
Dashboard admins can now configure threshold checks across key pollutants to receive automatic alerts based on real-time air pollutant concentrations. With AQ Alarms, you can fine-tune alarm thresholds, apply rules to specific sensors, and subscribe to email notifications tailored to your needs.
How AQ Alarms Work: Configure custom thresholds for your organization
An AQ Alarm is triggered when a Datasource reports pollutant levels above your defined threshold, as specified in an alarm rule. These rules are easy to set up and flexible to match your use case.
For example, you might want to monitor hourly PM2.5 mass concentration averages across your entire sensor network to identify recurring air pollution hotspots, or keep an eye out for high pollution events at a single high-traffic intersection.
Each AQ Alarm rule can be customized by:
- Pollutant and averaging period (e.g., PM2.5 1-hour mean mass concentration or NO2 24-hour mean concentration)
- Threshold and comparison operator
- Specific Datasources or network-wide coverage
We recognize that every organization’s needs are different, which is why Clarity’s alarm system is built to support a high degree of customization with:
- Organization-specific thresholds
- Per-user email subscriptions (including real-time alerts and weekly summaries)
- Detailed records of alarm rule versions, so changes over time are fully transparent
AQ Alarm reporting and notifications
Once triggered, alarms are shown in the AQ Alarms section of the Dashboard, where you can view a chart showing the number of active alarms per hour over the past 7 days, and a detailed log of recent active and cleared alarms.
The new AQ Alarms section includes:
- A 7-day chart showing how alarm activity has changed over time
- A table that logs current and past alarms, including when each started and cleared
- A detailed view of each alarm instance with historical context
If you’re subscribed to email alerts, you’ll receive an email alert each time a new AQ alarm is triggered. Each Dashboard user can manage notification preferences from their user profile under their notification preferences. Notification preferences are per user and won’t affect others in your organization.
Your weekly Dashboard Digest email will also provide a full summary of triggered alarms, helping you track trends and understand recurring issues.
Get started with AQ Alarms on the Clarity Dashboard
For detailed instructions on how to get started with AQ Alarms, see our Knowledge Base article.
To get started, visit the AQ Alarms section of your Dashboard to:
- Create or adjust alarm rules
- Review active and historical alarms
- Set your email notification preferences
We are thrilled to introduce this Dashboard update, which is part of our ongoing effort to provide useful, timely tools to support your air quality goals. Whether you're looking to respond faster, report more accurately, or simply stay informed, AQ Alarms are here to help.