For COP21, Plume Labs Unveils Live Air Pollution Map App


PARIS, FRANCE As the UN Summit on Climate Change ramps up in Paris, Plume Labs, a maker of environmental software for health and well being, announced today the launch of its World Air Map, a live map of air pollution around the world.

The data revolution can help policymakers cut air pollution and communities take back control of their environment. Plume Labs collects half a million open data environmental measurements from 11,000 stations every day to build predictive models using open data and data sciences that anticipate hourly changes in pollution levels in 200+ metropolitan areas around the world. Launched in September 2015, Plume’s mobile application the Air Report helps those who suffer from pollution protect themselves and avoid exposure thanks to hourly air quality forecasts.

By leveraging cutting-edge data sciences and technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, Plume Labs can now estimate hourly air pollution levels everywhere in the world –including in areas that aren’t monitored by stations. These models also anticipate long-distance transport of air pollutants, helping strengthen forecasting accuracy in urban areas.

The World Air Map puts this advanced technology at the fingertips of its users and makes it immediately accessible, helping democratize access to environmental information. It makes the invisible phenomenon of air pollution visible – especially in countries that do not operate monitoring networks. By making the air more transparent, it will also support climate activism and help visualize the harmful emissions world leaders aim at curtailing through the COP21 negotiations.

The live pollution data gathered by Plume Labs have already had massive impact; the company’s data platform helped identify the exceptional pollution episode in March 2015 when PM2.5 concentration in Paris topped that of Beijing, leading the French government to cut half the cars from the road in an attempt to curb air pollution.

Plume Labs introduced the World Air Map at a COP21 side-event on ‘Data Against Climate Change’ the company was organizing today. To showcase how the data revolution could help improve our environment, speakers from all backgrounds – the UN, the French Prime Minister’s office, Paris City Hall, NGOs, startups – gathered to present data-driven solutions for transparency, civic entrepreneurship and mobilization against pollution and climate change.


JD Sullivan

JD Sullivan is the Founder & Editor-in-Chief at Green Action News. He has a Bachelor's degree in Journalism/Mass Communication. JD is passionate about journalism & sustainable living.

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1 Response

  1. Reiner Pergeo says:

    It is a fantastic project, thanks for writing about it.

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