Google Maps has a new layer of air quality on both iOS and Android that can help you plan your next walk or bike ride at the right time, or to plan your smog and smoke escape in the bad times.
The new layer shows an overlay of air quality index (AQI) directly on the grid of the map using government data collected from agencies such as the U.S. EPA to show how healthy air is overall. Better yet, it also features data collected from PurpleAir’s sensor network to report street-level hyperlocal conditions. Clicking on the AQI readings shared by Google Maps provides more information on the health impact of air quality, the time and source of the last reading, and links to more information.
PurpleAir’s relatively low-cost sensors measure particles using laser particle counters. “They basically make a laser glow through the air and then the airborne particles reflect light and the detector captures those reflections,” PurpleAir founder Adrian Dybwad told The Verge in 2020, when sensors from the Your company became a popular way to keep track. the smoke produced by the catastrophic forest fires that break out on the west coast. Last year, Google Maps added a layer of forest fire to track the growing threat.
A PurpleAir PA-II outdoor air quality sensor. Image: PurpleAir
In addition to PurpleAir, Breezometer is also dedicated to mapping hyperlocal air quality. Cowboy e-bike owners have relied on company data to prevent pollution on their commutes since early last year. The breezometer, however, uses complex models, not physical sensors, to achieve a claimed data resolution of 5 meters (about 16 feet).