With smoke blanketing areas of the west for weeks, apps that measure air quality are becoming more popular than weather apps, according to Claims Journal.
Air quality index (AQI) readings of 150 trigger health emergency warnings if the readings stay steady for 24 hours.
But in some areas of Portland, Seattle and California, AQI reached 600 as forest fires and wildfires consumed the region.
Some of the most popular apps:
– AirNow Fire And Smoke, launched by the Environmental Protection Agency in August. It draws on several sources of data to measure smoke and ash.
– Air Matters, widely used in China and India. Predicts air quality worldwide and includes several U.S. cities.
– Purple Air, based in Utah, provides real-time measurement of fine particulate matter from its collection of 9,000 backyard air quality sensors. The company sells the sensors for $230.
