Ontology-Based Knowledge Modeling and Uncertainty-Aware Outdoor Air Quality Assessment Using Weighted Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel ontology-based framework that incorporates Weighted Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic to improve outdoor air quality assessment by effectively modeling uncertainty and enabling semantic reasoning.

Contribution

It presents a hybrid uncertainty-aware system combining fuzzy logic with semantic knowledge modeling to enhance AQI classification and decision support.

Findings

Improved AQI classification accuracy over traditional methods

Effective modeling of uncertainty near AQI class boundaries

Enhanced explainability and reasoning in air quality assessment

Abstract

Outdoor air pollution is a major concern for the environment and public health, especially in areas where urbanization is taking place rapidly. The Indian Air Quality Index (IND-AQI), developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), is a standardized reporting system for air quality based on pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), and ammonia (NH3). However, the traditional calculation of the AQI uses crisp thresholds and deterministic aggregation rules, which are not suitable for handling uncertainty and transitions between classes. To address these limitations, this study proposes a hybrid ontology-based uncertainty-aware framework integrating Weighted Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic with semantic knowledge modeling. Interval Type-2 fuzzy sets are used to model uncertainty near AQI class boundaries, while pollutant importance weights are determined using Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (IT2-FAHP) to reflect their relative health impacts. In addition, an OWL-based air quality ontology extending the Semantic Sensor Network (SSN) ontology is developed to represent pollutants, monitoring stations, AQI categories, regulatory standards, and environmental governance actions. Semantic reasoning is implemented using SWRL rules and validated through SPARQL queries to infer AQI categories, health risks, and recommended mitigation actions. Experimental evaluation using CPCB air quality datasets demonstrates that the proposed framework improves AQI classification reliability and uncertainty handling compared with traditional crisp and Type-1 fuzzy approaches, while enabling explainable semantic reasoning and intelligent decision support for air quality monitoring systems