CAMS National Collaboration Programme

Supporting Belgium to Better Forecast Air Pollution Episodes (Be-AIR-lert)

The CAMS National Collaboration Programme (NCP) is a dedicated scheme to support EU Member States in extracting the maximum benefit from CAMS air quality products and services during the implementation of their mandate regarding the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive.  

In Belgium the responsibility for management of the Belgium national air quality forecast system lies with the Belgian Interregional Environment Agency (IRCEL-CELINE). They use the forecast to inform the regional and federal authorities, and the public, on and during episodes of elevated air pollution. Thereby guiding the authorities and us on making more informed choices to better protect all of us during pollution peaks.   

To ensure that this system is as good as it can be, VITO is working together with the IRCEL team and air quality experts from ISSeP to improve the air quality data streams that forecast the elevated pollution levels. Advanced AI applications will be used to fuse the strengths of each of numerous data streams to produce the best forecasts possible. Data sources comprise of IRCEL’s CHIMERE based forecast models for Belgium, VITO and ISSeP’s machine learning models and CAMS air quality products (CAMS ensemble + Model Output Statistics), together with measurement data.