A project to assess the city’s air quality will be carried out in BTM Layout, which will decode rising air pollution and study its impact on public health and urban environment.
This is a joint initiative of 'Sensors Without Borders' and ‘Sensing Local', both city-based organisations working on environmental issues related to air and water pollution and waste management. The air quality at areas near major traffic junctions including shops, schools and residential complexes will be tracked with the help of low cost sensors modified to capture emissions from nearby outdoor sources alongside publicly available readings from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) sensors.
"Tracking emissions from nearby traffic junctions, construction sites, burning waste and a range of other outdoor pollution sources of particulate matter (PM) fills a vital gap in our understanding of the overall impact of outdoor air pollution on public health within our neighbourhood urban fabric," said Adithya Pasupuleti, Project Coordinator.
Researchers working on traffic patterns and air quality, experts from the technology space, urban and transport planning, and local communities will be roped in for suggestions, guidance and decoding of potential linkages between traffic, air quality emissions and health outcomes. Pasupuleti added that the larger goal of the experiment is to understand how data from air quality sensors, traffic and weather can be gathered in real-time using the Internet of things (IoT) technology in order to analyse complex, disparate datasets and disseminate the same into the public domain for wider public benefit.
Volunteers sought
The volunteers will assess the air quality at BTM Layout from October 17 to November 25. The participating organisations also plan to carry out a similar assessment at other localities and seek volunteers to help them execute the project. Interested people can get in touch through sensorswithoutborders@googlegroups.com and sensinglocal@gmail.com.