High-Level Project Summary
Air pollution worries everyone, especially those who suffer from respiratory diseases.With fires, gas emissions, and climate change, the result is a high concentration ofpollutants in the atmosphere and poor air quality.Our communities do not know how to check air pollution levels, and early warning isessential to inform everyone about possible respiratory problems. Through NASA'sdata, we can observe air quality and atmospheric pollution. That is why we proposeto use these data and make them accessible with real-time information on air qualityso that everyone can orient themselves and demand active actions from theirgovernments to reduce air pollution in their communities.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
Poor air quality is one of the most severe threats to human health, and we must engage and inspire people globally to take action and support projects that help clean the air in their communities.
The recent UN resolution on the right to a healthy environment states that climate change and environmental degradation are some of the most urgent threats to the future of humanity.
We need to raise awareness among people about the level of exposure to air pollution from traffic, industry, environmental pollution, agricultural fires, and wildfires.
The group's proposal, using NASA's data to provide information about the air quality and atmospheric pollution, is to use this data and provide it to our communities, converting the information on Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ozone (O3), and Inhalable Particulates (PI or PM10), Air Quality Index (AQI ) into visual icons that are easy to understand and access across multiple platforms.
We already have access to Weather Forecast information about atmospheric behavior and climatic aspects in the most different places on the planet, which are reported daily on television, newspapers, radio, internet. Our team proposes that Air Quality Measurement is also part of our information culture.
GOALS
Use open-source air quality measurement data and other open source information - such as epidemiological, social, political, and economic data - available to demonstrate in a smartphone widget prototype, a geolocated air quality alert to guide social awareness of health security measures.
Imagine if we had a widget on the home screen natively on all smartphone operating systems, with information about air quality, in the same way, that we have the Weather Forecast and temperature.
The level of awareness in our communities about the air quality could increase significantly, and these communities would be more careful to preserve health - from plants that improve air quality to room humidifiers (that can be allies when the weather is dry and with a large concentration of dust in the atmosphere).
The global community has to follow and monitor the air quality in real-time, know about the history, and make affirmative decisions about the unforeseen. It has to be everyone's right to receive alerts and updates that ensure we're breathing the cleanest air possible.
Through the widget on smartphones, street totems, and digital panels in hospitals, and schools, with real-time information on air quality, including preventive actions for people to minimize the effects of pollution and for everyone to be oriented and prepared for possible respiratory crises.
Air Quality Index (AQI)
The disclosure of air quality will be the values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) so that when the air quality is GOOD the guide values for short-term exposure established by the WHO will be reached. The World Health Organization (WHO) uses the Air Quality Index (AQI) to indicate whether the air is good or not, using these parameters:
Between 0 to 40, the air is good.
Between 41 and 80, it shows that the quality is moderate.
Between 81 and 120, the air quality is not good.
Between 121 and 200, the quality is poor and can have serious health consequences. Above 200, the air is terrible and can generate respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in an entire population. If our communities have access to these indicators on local air quality, and to health information related to this quality, it could be possible to carry out preventive actions that minimize the effects of pollution and raise questions about the cause of air pollution in your geographic location. However, to know what precautions are necessary, the essential is to monitor the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere to have predictable actions. The information can be helpful to government agencies to plan actions and monitor industrial activities that cause air pollution. By making this data available, we will make it possible for awareness in the present and changes for the future. Humanity has to improve Earth's air quality before NASA colonizes Mars.
Space Agency Data
DATA USED FOR FORECAST OF CO, CH4 AND O3
The data used were collected by Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) from the Aqua satellite generated on 09/30/2022 and accessed through the Wolrd View tool available by NASA. Available in: https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/
DATA USED FOR FORECAST OF CO2 IN THE ATMOSPHERE
The CO2 emission indexes were collected based on data generated by Carbon Tracker CT2019B and reports offered by Global Monitoring Laboratories from Nacional Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) in partner with NASA. Avaiable in: https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/carbontracker/
Hackathon Journey
We started the journey with a concern that affects our lives daily: the concentration of dust and air contamination caused by the ceramic industries concentrated in an industrial center in our community. Our head problem was how air quality affects climate change and how it can adversely affect people's lives. So our approach to creating this project was to do a brainstorming session, where everyone contributed their ideas and personal experiences on how air impurity affects their quality of life. It is an extraordinary experience to have people of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities on the team. The experience with Space Apps was positive, as we understand that with collaboration, we transform problems into solutions that benefit everyone.
References
NASA AND ITS PARTNERS' RESOURCES
NASA. Carbon monoxide, methane and ozone index by World View. (2022, October). Retrivied from: https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov
NOAA Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases. (2018, December). CarbonTracker CT2019B. Retrivied from: https://gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/trends/co2/co2_mm_gl.txt
Dr. Pawan Gupta; Universities Space Research Association; Laboratory for Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics NASA Goddard Space Flight Center . (2016, April). Satellite Observations Air Quality. Retrivied from: https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/610/applied-sciences/nasa_rio_materials/guptaRio2.pdf
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
IQAir. (2022, Setember). Air quality map of Santa Gertrudes. Retried from: https://www.iqair.com/air-quality-map/brazil/sao-paulo/santa-gertrudes
Tags
Tags: #ClimateChange #AirQuality #Widget #Health #AntesDeMarte