Click to enlarge.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has updated the AirNow mobile app to allow optional so-called push notifications of the local Air Quality Index (AQI) forecasts for the next day. Exposure to ground-level ozone can cause respiratory issues, aggravate asthma and other lung diseases, and may lead to missed days of work or school, emergency room visits, and premature deaths. These costly public health impacts can be especially harmful to children and older adults, disproportionately affecting people of color, families with low-incomes, and other vulnerable populations. (AutoInformed:EPA Reviewing Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards)
“State and local air agencies issue AQI forecasts as a public service to help people plan their outdoor activities. The agencies provide them to EPA, which shares them on the AirNow app and Airnow.gov website. Until now, AirNow users had to remember to check the app or website to see their forecasts; with the updates to the AirNow mobile app, people can opt to be notified when the daily forecast reaches an AQI category of their choosing,” EPA said.
AQI forecasts predict overall air quality for the next day for ground-level ozone and/or particle pollution. Ozone forecasts are based on the 8-hour period with the highest ozone levels; for particle pollution, they predict an average of the next 24 hours. Some agencies provide a forecast for several days at a time.
“The forecasts can be useful planning tools – especially for people who are at risk from ozone or particle pollution. For example, if the next day’s ozone forecast is unhealthy for everyone (Code Red) someone without much flexibility in their schedule may decide to move their outdoor activity indoors for that day. But because air quality can change throughout the day, people with more schedule flexibility can use the forecast as a reminder to check current air quality before heading out for a walk, a run, or even doing strenuous work in the garden,” EPA said.
Setting up push notifications in the updated app is easy. First, make sure you’ve turned on notifications for the AirNow app in your smartphone settings. Then, open the app and tap the menu icon on the upper left of the screen. Select “Notifications” from the list. From there, you can choose to receive forecast notifications for up to 10 locations.
Learn more about receiving AQI forecast push notifications in the AirNow app
Download the app at these links:
Don’t have a so-called smartphone? Check your AQI forecast and current air quality at the AirNow.gov website
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
First Look – EPA AirNow Mobile App
Click to enlarge.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has updated the AirNow mobile app to allow optional so-called push notifications of the local Air Quality Index (AQI) forecasts for the next day. Exposure to ground-level ozone can cause respiratory issues, aggravate asthma and other lung diseases, and may lead to missed days of work or school, emergency room visits, and premature deaths. These costly public health impacts can be especially harmful to children and older adults, disproportionately affecting people of color, families with low-incomes, and other vulnerable populations. (AutoInformed:EPA Reviewing Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards)
“State and local air agencies issue AQI forecasts as a public service to help people plan their outdoor activities. The agencies provide them to EPA, which shares them on the AirNow app and Airnow.gov website. Until now, AirNow users had to remember to check the app or website to see their forecasts; with the updates to the AirNow mobile app, people can opt to be notified when the daily forecast reaches an AQI category of their choosing,” EPA said.
AQI forecasts predict overall air quality for the next day for ground-level ozone and/or particle pollution. Ozone forecasts are based on the 8-hour period with the highest ozone levels; for particle pollution, they predict an average of the next 24 hours. Some agencies provide a forecast for several days at a time.
“The forecasts can be useful planning tools – especially for people who are at risk from ozone or particle pollution. For example, if the next day’s ozone forecast is unhealthy for everyone (Code Red) someone without much flexibility in their schedule may decide to move their outdoor activity indoors for that day. But because air quality can change throughout the day, people with more schedule flexibility can use the forecast as a reminder to check current air quality before heading out for a walk, a run, or even doing strenuous work in the garden,” EPA said.
Setting up push notifications in the updated app is easy. First, make sure you’ve turned on notifications for the AirNow app in your smartphone settings. Then, open the app and tap the menu icon on the upper left of the screen. Select “Notifications” from the list. From there, you can choose to receive forecast notifications for up to 10 locations.
Learn more about receiving AQI forecast push notifications in the AirNow app
Download the app at these links:
Don’t have a so-called smartphone? Check your AQI forecast and current air quality at the AirNow.gov website
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.