Many natural elements affect our daily activities, including snow, temperature and rain. Additionally, air quality has become a primary concern in many areas, especially considering the dramatic increase in the number and intensity of wildfires in recent years. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the United States has experienced, on average, 100 more large wildfires every year than the year before since 2015. Wildfires are also growing in size and moving with a speed and intensity previously unseen.
BreezoMeter, a company focused on providing air quality data to citizens, is unveiling a database of information anyone can access so the general population can have an accurate understanding of active fires and their effect on environmental air quality.
Related: Wildfire smoke linked to almost 20,000 COVID-19 cases last year
The new wildfire tracking technology is available via a free app and provides information about the location of fires and the resulting air quality. It also provides visuals of the total area consumed by the fire, its name, the wind’s speed and direction, the estimated time of containment, and the time of the last update. The team behind BreezoMeter hopes those who track and fight fires can use the Live Wildfire Tracking data for better resource management.
“The free service is part of the company’s commitment to protecting people’s health by equipping them with more than what the eyes can see about the air they breathe, as the effects of climate change, pollution and fires increasingly affect air quality around the world,” BreezoMeter said in a press release.
The real-time information combines some aspects of other technology already available, such as local sensors and air quality reports. However, BreezoMeter set out to improve gaps in that information to provide real-time visibility without time delays in reporting.
Ran Korber, CEO of BreezoMeter, says, “As wildfires worsen, the public needs the same level of accuracy around fires that they’ve come to expect of rain, snow, and other traditional weather forecasts. Our new technology enables people to protect themselves by adjusting their daily lives without any fear or doubt that the information they’re getting is reliable. It additionally gives companies the tools they need to adapt their operations and offerings, and authorities the real-time information they need to act quicker and smarter.”
In addition to providing up-to-date data to citizens and firefighters, BreezoMeter hopes its information can benefit companies in the healthcare, smart home, air purification, automotive, lifestyle and cosmetics industries. The technology will work with GPS data to map the healthiest driving, walking, biking and jogging routes. This information can also benefit supply chain deliveries that may otherwise be delayed by wildfire activity.
Along with smart home technology, BreezoMeter can provide evacuation alerts and enhance weather apps with information about air quality.
Images via BreezoMeter
