Analytics, big data, cheap IoT sensors and other new #tech will help create smart cities and reduce air pollution. Shown here is Shanghai as seen from the bund (We originally used this photo in our much longer article about pollution in China, but the photo itself drew a lot of reader interest here and on social media). The haze over the city is due to PM2.5 particulate air pollution, which NASA estimates kills over 2 million annually. PM2.5 pollution levels in Shanghai are frequently in what the US EPA would consider the “unhealthy” range, at which 24 hour exposure can impact cancer statistics according to WHO information. Today, citizen scientists can purchase inexpensive arduino-based iot devices to help them monitor indoor and outdoor pollution levels (Wikipedia link). Analytics on the data can help inform policies to help mitigate the pollution, as well as help residents take steps to stay healthy.
Read more in our earlier article that originally featured this photo.
Photo credit: seto_supraenergy/Creative Commons 2 by attribution
(A version of this article was originally published as a post on our IG feed.)