INtegrated Hybrid system for AI-enhanced Local air quality Evaluation – INHALE

Urban air pollution remains a major public health and environmental challenge, contribution to respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. Conventional air quality monitoring approaches either lack spatial resolution, due to the limited number of high-precision stations, or suffer from data reliability issues. Moreover, policymakers and city planners frequently lack access to high-resolution exposure data necessary for targeted interventions at the street level.

The INHALE project addresses this gap by developing and validating a hybrid, AI-enhanced system for urban air quality assessment. By integrating Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, low-cost sensor data, and machine learning techniques, INHALE will produce high-resolution exposure maps that accurately reflect pollutant concentrations in complex urban environments. The project will be implemented through five interconnected Work Packages. A CFD modelling framework will simulate pollutant dispersion in the urban landscape of Nicosia. Simultaneously, existing sensor datasets will be cleaned, harmonised and analysed. These datasets will be fused with model outputs using machine learning algorithms to calibrate sensor measurements and generate accurate exposure maps.

The key outputs of INHALE include a transferable methodology for street-scale air quality monitoring, validated AI calibration models, and a demonstrator study showcasing the system’s application in Nicosia. This innovative framework will inform urban air quality management, support data-driven decision making and contribute to Cyprus’s Smart City and environmental sustainability strategies. By bridging gaps in monitoring accuracy and spatial coverage, INHALE aims to empower municipalities with cost-effective, scientifically robust tools to protect public health and enhance urban resilience.

Start date: 1 March, 2026

End date: 30 November, 2026

Funding: €40,000

INHALE is funded the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation.