Get Live Tweet Updates On Your City’s Air Quality | TechTree.com

Get Live Tweet Updates On Your City’s Air Quality

Earth Day 2016 to focus on creating awareness about increasing air pollution in Indian cities

 

Ever wondered about the quality of air that you breathe in? We are all aware of the increasing pollution levels in our cities. We all know about the factors that contribute to the depletion of air quality, however most of us prefer to believe that there is no real damage unless it affects us personally! The general apathy towards pollution and the abatement of pollution lies in the sheer lack of real time updates about the quality of our environment. 
As per the World Health Organization (WHO) report 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world were Indian cities, with the Capital City on the top of the list. On the eve of Earth Day,@TwitterIndia has partnered with @IndiaSpend to launch a new #Breathe hashtag service to enable Indians to get real-time information about the air pollution levels around them through a simple Tweet.
As a live communications platform for people to use every day, Twitter powers this new #Breathe service to increase public awareness about the alarming rise in air pollution levels across major cities in India. In the initial launch phase, Twitter users will be able to constantly monitor the air quality in their neighborhoods in three major cities: Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Once you tweet using the #Breathe hashtag along with your location, you will receive a tweet reply with the real-time update of air quality in your city. The tweet will also include a visual notification with a measurement of the air quality along with possible health implications.
Raheel Khursheed, Head of News and Government Partnerships at Twitter India, said, “Not only is Twitter the best way to see what’s happening in your world right now, but it is also the best place for real-time information updates to make your life better every day. 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.”
Govindraj Ethiraj, Founder, India Spend, said, “India Spend’s mission is to improve the quality of public discourse by using data to tell stories. With #Breathe, we are combining the latest in low-cost censor technology with increasing citizens’ demand for alternative data narratives. Going forward, we believe that projects like #Breathe will convert into real action on ground and policy response to improve the quality of our lives.”
In January 2016, Twitter had partnered with Delhi Transport Department (@TransportDelhi) during the odd-even car driving experiment to launch #PollutionFreeDelhi service. The initiative focused on enabling users with real-time info for bus and metro route options, traffic updates, and weather conditions. Twitter was able to support Delhi citizens in making the #PollutionFreeDelhi a success, adding another milestone to its daily utility service in India.
Abatement of pollution is just not about controlling the levels of pollution, but a pro-active approach in sustaining the environment by undoing the damage of man induced pollution for the generations to come. The mind-numbing statistics regarding the air quality should be an eye opener to most people. Remember Leonardo’s Oscar acceptance speech?
The next time you car pool, or plant a sapling remember to pat yourself on the back!


TAGS: Earth Day, Earth Day 2016, #Breathe, Twitter

 
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