Air quality specialist EarthSense released live ambient air pollution alerting capabilities to its MyAir® web application on 25 May, “enabling prompt action against thresholds that may be unsafe to human health”.
Available as a new feature to MyAir®, the update provides Zephyr® air quality monitor users with the option to create air pollution alerts for specific units or complete networks, allowing for live updates about air quality concentrations that have breached pre-determined levels.
The development means the likes of local authorities, construction site managers, and transport professionals will be able to rapidly respond to high concentrations of air pollution. When an alert is received, action can be taken to reduce high levels, such as diverting traffic away from a hotspot area, reducing use of diesel fuelled vehicles on construction sites or alerting members of the public to avoid strenuous physical activity in certain areas.
The new feature enables users to set up, manage and delete alerts for air pollutants which are appropriate to their monitoring needs, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10). Customisable thresholds for singular, multiple or all pollutants will be offered, together with flexibility for creating multiple alerts for a single pollutant.
Users will also be able to generate warnings for episodes that last over 15 minutes, 30 minutes and one hour. When air pollution concentrations breach the defined threshold over the chosen period, MyAir® will send an automatic alert to an email address chosen by the user.
Email notifications will provide information for the species measured, the location of the unit, the time and duration of the pollution episode, the chosen alert threshold and the value measured by the Zephyr®. MyAir® will also send users information about air quality concentrations following the breached limit, allowing them to discover whether high levels have continued.
EarthSense Managing Director, Tom Hall said: “The new alerts are just the beginning of the feature. We’ll soon be creating an alerting API (Application Programming Interface) which can be integrated with third party systems for delivering automated changes when air quality reaches levels above pre-set measures. This will cut out the middleman reducing human interaction and room for error, and will ensure that the most effective mitigation strategy is implemented.”
EarthSense’s air quality service uses MyAir® as the hub for measured and modelled air quality data using a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. Those monitoring air pollution with its flagship real-time air quality monitor, the Zephyr®, can access, analyse, and download real-time measurements through the web application. Monitoring data is supplemented with MappAir® modelling data for identifying air quality concentrations at locations where units have not been deployed.
Hall continued: “The adaptable air pollution alerts are crucial for taking prompt action against high air pollution at localised areas or across cities and towns, and we’re proud to have taken our relatively new MyAir® web app to a place where we can help to implement behavioural change.”
