I have already mentioned this app on a previous post but I was waiting for this update anxiously as it brings more sensors to the app. Local Haze is an app for iOS devices that helps consumers easily view and understand air quality data, in particular, Particulate Matter with aerodynamic diameters less than or equal to 2.5 microns (μm) also known as PM2.5.
What’s new?
Amazingly, the team behind Local Haze was able to connect to the uRAD Monitors API, as a result users and communities will be able to see PM2.5 data right from their phone or tablet with just a tap. Additionally, the users can now view PM1.0 and PM10 values when the sensors support these measurements.
This update to the Local Haze app also benefits Smoggie users and especially my volunteers around the world since it allows users to view and monitor the data from these devices.
Of course, the app supports many more data sources like PurpleAir, Luftdaten (with over 11,000 online devices), AirNow, US Department of State, uRADMonitors, and more to come.
Why is it important?
The easier and more comfortable we present data to the average people the more likely it is for them to embrace the technologies which are designed to increase awareness and to combat air pollution. People love their phones and they spend a great deal of time interacting with them, by porting air quality data to such devices, with the help of a free app, then it enables them to interact with their environment/communities.
Right now, while people all over the world are patiently waiting to go outdoors again, trying out Local Haze will show you the air quality outside your door. The covid-19 pandemic helped us see how air quality has improved significantly in cities all over the world and understand that urban air pollution is anthropogenic. It’s up to all of us to keep improving the way we live and the air we breathe.
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Local Haze has in the recent 2.1 release added support for push notifications from uRADMonitor sensors. Now, even without the application running, notifications are delivered upon significant changes to the US EPA AQI level monitored by the uRADMonitor sensor.
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[…] third-party apps and websites to check the air quality. A free app for your mobile phone is Local Haze which relies on a low-cost network of sensors, but it also supports official data from the […]
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