Environment
Cheap Sensors Are Democratizing Air-Quality Data
A new generation of inexpensive, portable air-quality sensors is making it easier for citizen groups and individuals to monitor the air around them.
Until she moved to Fresno, California in 2003, Janet DietzKamei had never experienced asthma. But after just a few years in a city notorious for its filthy air—the American Lung Association lists it in the five worst U.S. cities for air quality—DietzKamei found herself in the emergency room struggling to breathe.
She soon started staying inside on days when the air was thick with smog from nearby industry or traffic, and would check the local air-quality alerts every morning. But even that wasn’t enough—sometimes on days deemed safe by the air-quality index, she’d find herself gasping for breath.