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Why it’s so confusing to determine the air quality in Los Angeles right now

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Why it's so confusing to determine the air quality in Los Angeles right now

AirNow fire map includes data from PurpleAir sensors (that’s what the small circles represent), and Watch Duty, a nonprofit fire-tracking app, also shows data from PurpleAir. But probably due to different calculations and processing delays, the air quality index reported by the same sensors can vary greatly from map to map. For what is known as PM2.5 pollution, or small inhalable particles of smoke and dust, a PurpleAir sensor located south of Los Angeles International Airport simultaneously returned an air quality index of 28 on Monday on the airline’s website. AirNow, 20 in WatchDuty and 5 in PurpleAir. official page.

Each of those values ​​generally indicates healthy air, but things can get more complicated when other types of data are added to the calculations. That’s exactly what companies like BreezoMeter and Ambee are doing in hopes of providing what they describe as accurate “hyperlocal” estimates over the many miles between some sensor locations.

BreezoMeter was founded in Israel and raised tens of millions of dollars in venture capital funding before being acquired by Google in 2022 for more than $200 million, according to Israeli media. (Google declined to comment on the value of the deal.) It feeds air quality data seen in the Weather app on Apple devices and the Google Maps app. Meanwhile, Indian startup Ambee is responsible for the air quality data in the WeatherBug app, which is among the most popular weather apps in the world.

Yael Maguire, vice president of geosustainability at Google, says BreezoMeter estimate air quality every hour across a wide range of contaminants and locations, generating more data than many government systems. To make its calculations, the company uses information obtained not only from EPA and PurpleAir sensors, but also from satellites and other sources, such as weather and traffic reports. According to its CEO, Jaideep Singh Bachher, similar data is incorporated into Ambee’s proprietary algorithm. “We want to give people the right data when and where they need it,” he says.

Volckens says he doesn’t trust these systems. The low-cost PurpleAir sensors they rely on in part are not well suited for the conditions under which they are often deployed in the U.S., including during wildfires, he says. But he acknowledges that while they tend to be wrong in terms of raw numbers, these sensors can be accurate about 90 percent of the time in determining the warning level, that scale of green to maroon that is often enough for people make decisions. about how to protect your health.

PurpleAir representative Andrew White says its sensors They have been found to be accurate. and that you have no control over how other services run calculations using your data. Google’s Maguire says the company “provides highly accurate, industry-leading air quality information,” even “even in areas with limited monitoring.”

Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, an associate professor of forestry and environmental resources at North Carolina State University who has studied PurpleAir’s sensors, says the safest bet for anyone concerned about air quality is to rely on the number or level of highest color among the different services. “I have more faith in the AirNow numbers because I understand them,” he says. But “it never hurts to make a decision that is too conservative when it comes to protecting yourself.”

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