New Delhi: Micro-blogging website Twitter has introduced a new feature in India that will allow users to get real-time information about air pollution levels in their area. Just a tweet will give detailed information about the pollution level. The feature marks Earth Day 2016, April 22.
Users need to tweet #Breathe followed by their area to get the real-time information about air quality. Twitter sends reverts with tweet showing real-time graphical representation of the data.
Twitter has tied up with India Spend, which is a “data journalism initiative.” The data features PM and Air Quality Index (AQI) levels and the impact it will have on your health.
The service currently is only available for Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. But, Twitter has said in its blog post that the feature will soon roll out for other cities in India as well.
The social networking website on its blog has posted World Health Organization’s list as of December 2014 which says 13 out of 20 most polluted cities worldwide are in India. The list includes cities like Patna, Gwalior, Raipur, Ahmadabad and more.
Also read: Google celebrates Earth Day with doodle
Twitter in its blog post said, “Twitter powers this new #Breathe service to increase public awareness about the alarming rise in air pollution levels across major cities in India.”
“Pollution levels across India are rising and is a huge health issue affecting millions of people. By leveraging India Spend’s air-quality monitoring network, Twitter is democratizing access to live air pollution data to help Indians make healthier living decisions from Earth Day 2016 and beyond,” it added.
Also, there are some more apps which help in detecting air quality; Indian government’s SAFAR-Air app is one of them. It provides the forecast for air quality and corresponding health advisories in real-time. You can download the app from Google Play Store which is currently active for Delhi and Pune.
