The federal and Ontario governments announced launch of an Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) in Toronto, a tool to rate air quality based on its risk to human health.

"It's basically a tool that people can use to ensure that they know the health impacts on a particular day of the amount of pollutants in the air," Health Minister Tony Clement told CTV Newsnet Monday.

Currently, the Air Quality Index (AQI) reflects air quality in relation to provincial standards, not health risk.

"Air quality affects different people in different ways. Healthy individuals may not notice poor air quality when it happens, where as those with particularly severe breathing and heart problems can be very sensitive to bad air," Dr. David McKeown, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, said Monday during a news conference.

The federal government is spending an estimated $30 million on the new pilot project over the course of the next four years.

Officials plan to implement the AQHI across Canada to create a nationally consistent index that will allow Canadians to respond to air quality conditions regardless of where they live.

Once fully implemented, it will be possible to compare health risks from the air in communities across Canada.

The AQHI works as a 10-point scale that shows the level of health risk associated with local air quality.

As the AQHI value increases, so does the risk to health.

"This is the first one (program) in the world ... that focuses in on human health," said Clement.

"Our calculations are that every year in our large, urban centres in Canada there are 5,900 people who die prematurely as a result of air pollution so this is a direct impact on our lives."

It's estimated 1,700 of those deaths occur in Toronto, which is why the city will be the first to implement the new pilot program over the course of the next 18 months.

"It's regrettable that we're in the position to require such an index, but I want to ensure everyone that Toronto is a leader in environmental initiatives," Toronto Mayor David Miller said.

"Our new climate change, clean air and sustainable energy plan underscores this city's commitment to improving air quality and reducing smog-causing emissions city wide."

Since people of different ages are affected in a variety of ways by air pollution, the AQHI scale also allows people to "self-calibrate."

In other words, people are encouraged to pay attention to how they feel individually and can use the AQHI values to avoid exposure at levels that they notice to be harmful.

Toronto resident Colleen Wise has suffered from asthma all of her life. She often has to use her puffer multiple times through out the day if the air quality is poor.

"If I go outside and it's way too humid and I have to walk somewhere, it could happen in a second. I could be gone in a second," Wise said Monday.

Wise, 19, believes the new project could potentially save lives.

Clement, Environment Minister John Baird, Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten were all present for the announcement.

One environmental activist said governments shouldn't just be measuring pollution better, they should be finding ways to reduce it.

"They have a tool to gauge the problem, but nothing, no new announcement today about how to actually clean the air," said Franz Hartmann of the Toronto Environmental Alliance.

He noted that Broten was mum on the issue of when the provincial Liberal government would finally make good on its promise to phase out the province's coal-fired power plants.

"If this (index) is what constitutes cleaning the air for the federal government, we are in for many more smoggy days and thousands and thousands of more deaths this year and the year after that."

With a report from CTV's Janice Golding and files from The Canadian Press