App From U. of Alabama in Huntsville Tracks Air Quality, Available for iOS and Android (Free)
From the U. of Alabama in Huntsville:
MobileAQI (Mobile Air Quality Index) uses data from instruments on board NASA and NOAA satellites to supplement pollution estimates available from other sources, to give a more accurate and reliable report on fine particulates (particles no bigger than 2.5 microns) in the air, said the project leader, Dr. Udaysankar Nair.
“That is the size that is most efficient at getting into your lungs,” said Nair, an assistant professor of atmospheric science at UAHuntsville. “The population most at risk is the elderly, especially people with respiratory problems, although this could be of use to children or anyone with serious respiratory problems, such as bad asthma.”
In addition to giving an estimate of current conditions, the app also forecasts hour-by-hour air quality as much as 24 hours in advance.
The app, which is available for both Android and iPhone systems, provides a quick reading on local particulate levels. The coverage area includes most of the eastern U.S., from the tip of Florida as far north as Milwaukee and from the Atlantic Ocean as far west as the border between Kansas and Colorado.
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Gary Price (firstname.lastname@example.org) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.