Sid Weng
Goo goo g' joob.
What you need to know
Through the map, people can learn about the current air pollution situation in their location to consider whether to go out for a run or to take protective measures. On the other hand, it can also urge local governments to take action to reduce air pollution before it turns severe.
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Liberty Times reports, if you want to get real time data of air pollution at your location, in addition to checking the information on the webpage of the Environmental Protection Administration’s Taiwan Air Quality Monitoring Network, the Chinese NGO AQICN.org has also launched the World Air Quality Index Map to offer air pollution information.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) shows the degree of air pollution in different locations. Green and yellow are within the acceptable range. The darker the color gets, the more severe the pollution is.｜Photo Credit: World Air Quality Index
This global real-time interactive map collects data from 8,028 official monitoring stations in 68 countries, providing the change of the degree of pollution per hour. On the banner it shows real time air pollution data and users can check the degree of air pollution of the places they live in with the search function.
Apple Daily reports, the degree of pollution on the map is divided into six levels, namely level 1 (Good), level 2 (Moderate), level 3 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups), level 4 (Unhealthy), level 5 (Very Unhealthy), and level 6 (Hazardous). Different levels are distinguished by colors from light green to dark red. On the map it shows that it’s green throughout Europe, while the industrial zones of China are a sea of red.
These pollutants are usually produced by the combustion of wood, fuel and so on. They are harmful to human bodies, and can cause asthma, heart disease and cancer.
Through the map, people can learn about the current air pollution situation in their location to consider whether to go out for a run or to take protective measures. On the other hand, it can also urge local governments to take action to reduce air pollution before it turns severe.
Liberty Times reports, this map has launched a mobile application supporting iOS, Android and Windows Phone systems.
Photo Credit: World Air Quality Index
A recent study predicts that over 6.5 million people will have died from air pollution each year by 2050. Currently the 3.3 million premature deaths from air pollution every year are mostly in Asia.
Vision Times reports, about 1.6 million people in China die from air pollution each year and about 4,400 people die from air pollution each day. It is equivalent to about 17% of China’s death toll. In other words, about one-fifth of deaths in China can be attributed to toxic air pollution in the country.
Translated by Vic
Edited by Olivia Yang
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