PM2.5 is a particulate air pollutant that poses a major health concern to humans. They are tiny pollutants measuring 2.5 microns and below. PM2.5 can enter deep into the lungs and the blood stream. Prolonged exposure to PM2.5 can cause health effects like respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Learn more about PM2.5, the best way to protect yourself from PM2.5 and other trends here.
Recent news reports have proclaimed a dramatic reduction in China’s air pollution during the coronavirus lockdown, yet data shows Beijing has actually seen pollution levels rise during this period. The headlines are based on images from NASA, finding that air pollution dropped 10-30% compared to the same period in 2019. …
A Smart Air analysis of new air quality data Beijing’s PM2.5 pollution dropped 11% in 2019 from the year before. Combined with progress in earlier years, Beijing has cut its PM2.5 in half compared to 2014. Beijing’s improvement suggests that the 2013-2017 Clean Air Action Plan, with its tens of …
A Smart Air analysis of 2019 air pollution data found that Shanghai’s PM2.5 improvement has stalled out, actually increasing by 3% over 2018. A tally of “good” air dropped by 9.3% in 2019. In 2018, 32% of days in Shanghai qualified as “good”. In 2019, that dropped to 23%. Daily …
After a big improvement in 2018, new data shows China’s war on air pollution is slowing down. A Smart Air analysis of 2019 PM2.5 data for China’s 15 largest cities found that more than half saw worse air quality over 2018. Maps comparing average PM2.5 in December 2018 to December 2019 …
After launching the world’s most cost-effective purifier (the Sqair), we started testing the HEPA lifespan. I’ve long been skeptical of the lifespan numbers purifier companies give because (1) they provide no empirical justification for the number and (2) they give the same numbers in Switzerland or Delhi. Yet clearly the …
Planting trees to solve China’s air pollution would be a very ineffective way. Let me break down the effect of trees into (1) sucking up particulate and (2) giving particles a place to land. 1. How Much Particulate Air Pollution Do Trees Suck Up? Let’s talk about the most commonly …
Analyzing air quality data from the Berkeley Earth Project, Smart Air found that Bangalore’s air quality worsened by 7% in 2018 compared to 2017. This puts Bangalore at about 4 times the World Health Organization’s annual limit. Bangalore Air Pollution by Month Breaking down the data by month reveals …
Beijing and Delhi often make headlines for air polluted cities, but which city has worse air? I wanted to get some hard numbers on how the two cities’ air quality compare. The Data To do that, I analyzed PM2.5 data from the US Embassies in Delhi and government monitors …
Right after moving to their new office in the Chimes building in Gurgaon, Ford India was experiencing problems with outdoor particulate pollution (PM2.5) and chemicals (VOCs) off-gassing from new furniture, carpets, paints, and other remodeling work. To tackle these problems and protect the health of their staff, Ford India reached …
PM2.5 AQI (air quality index) is the most common measurement used to track air pollution and air quality. In this article, we will discuss how PM2.5 AQI is calculated, how you can use it, and we’ll uncover its funny quirk. How Is PM2.5 AQI Calculated? To calculate the PM2.5 AQI …
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