7 September was the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies! Clean Air is important because air quality affects our living environment and our health. Due to air pollution, people in the Netherlands live on average 9 months shorter. In the project Hollandse Luchten, Waag Futurelab measures the air quality with citizens by using citizen science sensors. Citizen science can play an important role play in improving air quality.
Fine dust often moves like a blanket over a large area. Fine dust is measured by official air monitoring stations throughout the Netherlands. The amount of fine dust in the areas in between, is calculated based on models. Local sources of fine dust are therefore not visible in these data. When residents measure air quality themselves, new insight into local emissions can emerge. Measuring in many places creates a ‘finely-meshed measurement network’ at neighbourhood level.
Read the whole article in Dutch.
