CO or Carbon Monoxide is a colorless and oderless gas. If inhaled constantly or the concentrations are too high, it can affect our health severely. Vehicles and other machinery that burns fossil fuels represent the most significant sources of CO.
Particle pollution is one of the most common pollutants, and often it is not clear what we can or should do in each air quality index level. There are six levels, from good to hazardous.
Last week was the International Hand Launch Glider Festival, the largest gathering of radio-control discus launch gliders in North America. No, PurpleAir hasn't pivoted into making RC toys, but it holds a special place in our hearts. This hobby provided me (Adrian Dybwad) with the building blocks for creating the first air quality sensors that have grown into the PurpleAir we all know and love today.
Since my teens, I have been striving to design and build electronic gadgets, but PurpleAir did not start as a project like that. With PurpleAir, I did not set out to start a business at all. I set out to answer a question, and once it was realized that answer might be interesting to other people, everything changed. Our origin story is a little different. Here’s how it goes:
Outdoor air quality is unpredictable. The weather and atmospheric conditions can change from one day to another. Environmental pollution, car density, and even daily activities like smoking and lighting fires can affect the outdoor PM2.5 concentrations. In a sense, indoor air should be easier to maintain clean and breathable. But what if there is a silent enemy inside your home?
During an ongoing wildfire, the fire itself, the smoke and the ashes can affect your health. The outdoor air has higher than usual particulate matter concentrations and is unhealthy to breathe. This unhealthy air can also come inside houses and buildings, making the indoor air unhealthy to breathe too.
During wildfire season, ventilating our home can be a challenge. Opening the doors and windows could mean the opposite; instead of letting in fresh, clean air, we can be letting in the air with a lot of particle pollution accumulation. Here we will teach you how to make a box fan air purifier with a DIY project.
When the AQI (Air Quality Index) in your area shows extremely high levels of PM2.5 or your PurpleAir sensor shows a health alert, it means that pollution is hazardous at these levels. Consider these steps to reduce your exposure.
Are you curious about the air quality around you? Do you want to learn more and contribute to your community with your air quality projects? Join our ranks as a Community Scientist!
The air we breathe has direct consequences on our health. According to The NOAA, "Poor air quality is responsible for an estimated more than 100,000 premature deaths in the U.S each year". PurpleAir has designed a hyper-local, real-time air quality map that targets the need to measure and visualize air quality.
PM - which stands for particulate matter or particle pollution - is an intricate mixture of liquid droplets made up of acids (like nitrates and sulfates), ammonium, water, black carbon, organic chemicals, metals, soil material, and air-borne particles.
A wildifire is an uncontrolled fire that burns in wildland vegetation such as forests, grasslands, and savannas, or in rural areas. They can exist in every continent or environment.