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Realtime California Air Quality

purpleair.com

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Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#41

Post by rz2k »

ilyagr wrote: post #23

I've found http://www.airnow.gov very helpful and faster to load than the Purple Air map. They also have a simple but efficient app. Airnow's map is slow to load, but shows smoke, air monitors (including the Purple Air ones^[footnote]), and fires all at once: https://fire.airnow.gov/?lat=37.40&lng=-122.077&zoom=10# A less detailed, fast, static map for the SF Bay Area is available at http://www.baaqmd.gov . Last, but…

I hooked up a PM2.5 sensor[1] I ordered during wildfires a few years ago, and the EPA's AirNow has been far more consistent with what I'm measuring than Purple Air or IQAir.

I think the source for that static map is here: https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/, and includes some projections.

Accuweather and Windy.com have pretty good forecasts, but the ones that have been the most accurate this week for me are the US Forest Service's BlueSky models.

California (might miss northern smoke) - https://tools.airfire.org/websky/v2/run/standard/CANSAC-1.33...

CA, OR, ID, NV, UT, AZ - https://tools.airfire.org/websky/v2/run/standard/CANSAC-4km/...

[1] Plantower PMS7003 are less than $20 on AliExpress. Here's a quick plot of the data https://i.imgur.com/FjABgpP.png including a spike where it was above a grill.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#42

Post by unsrsly »

krat0sprakhar wrote: post #30
ilyagr wrote: post #23

I've found http://www.airnow.gov very helpful and faster to load than the Purple Air map. They also have a simple but efficient app. Airnow's map is slow to load, but shows smoke, air monitors (including the Purple Air ones^[footnote]), and fires all at once: https://fire.airnow.gov/?lat=37.40&lng=-122.077&zoom=10# A less detailed, fast, static map for the SF Bay Area is available at http://www.baaqmd.gov . Last, but…

Didn't know about airnow.gov - thanks! I'm surprised though why the data is so different between airnow and purpleair. On AirNow, SF currently shows unhealthy air (150~) whereas purpleair shows 88 (moderate). Which one of these is more reliable and real-time?

In addition to what other commenters have said, I'd guess that some purpleair sensors are placed in garages or other places with a local concern for air quality. That may explain some of the local variation you see on purpleair.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#43

Post by scurvy »

tempsy wrote: post #38

this year is like a sad joke. if covid didn’t kill San Francisco these fires will be the breaking point. it has become that for me.

What about the fires last year? Or two years ago? Those were worse for SF proper. It looked like Mars or the end of days 2 years ago.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#44

Post by supernova87a »

Maybe someone can share/explain --

Purple Air sells you a sensor that you can install, and then takes the data, displays it on their website for lots of people to view, and then presumably makes money off the data you send them? Why should you have to pay for the sensor then?

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#45

Post by Zhenya »

Submitted a quick instruction on how to make an air purifier.

Link: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24251509

Copy/pasta to help folks:

Note: this is not my idea, but I have used it for 2 Cal fire seasons successfully.

1) Acquire a box fan

2) Acquire a large "FPR 10" rated filter from home depot

3) Duct tape filter to the out flow side of the box fan. Make sure the arrows on the filter point in the correct airflow direction.

This works dramatically well for very little dollars and can help save your lungs if air purifiers are not available or expensive.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#46

Post by novok »

scurvy wrote: post #43
tempsy wrote: post #38

this year is like a sad joke. if covid didn’t kill San Francisco these fires will be the breaking point. it has become that for me.

What about the fires last year? Or two years ago? Those were worse for SF proper. It looked like Mars or the end of days 2 years ago.

No covid... Can't meet people inside or outside now, plus an economy that is close to starving people. Most places are 3 meals away from a revolution.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#47

Post by bittercynic »

supernova87a wrote: post #44

Maybe someone can share/explain -- Purple Air sells you a sensor that you can install, and then takes the data, displays it on their website for lots of people to view, and then presumably makes money off the data you send them? Why should you have to pay for the sensor then?

Personally, I probably wouldn't, but if you wanted to know about the air quality at your home this would be one way to do it.

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#48

Post by guerrilla »

dylan604 wrote: post #24
casefields wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a great map: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgHuZ8XUcAEii18?format=png&name=...

I found this interactive map compelling: https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=69fc...

There's these two using satellite data as well [1][2]. Live webcams for a bonus [3].

[1]. https://firemap.sdsc.edu/

[2]. https://mappingsupport.com/p2/gissurfer.php?basemap=USA_base...

[3]. http://www.alertwildfire.org/northbay/index.html?camera=Axis...

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#49

Post by peterhj »

ilyagr wrote: post #23

I've found http://www.airnow.gov very helpful and faster to load than the Purple Air map. They also have a simple but efficient app. Airnow's map is slow to load, but shows smoke, air monitors (including the Purple Air ones^[footnote]), and fires all at once: https://fire.airnow.gov/?lat=37.40&lng=-122.077&zoom=10# A less detailed, fast, static map for the SF Bay Area is available at http://www.baaqmd.gov . Last, but…

Direct URL to one of the combined AQI maps for the Bay Area:

https://files.airnowtech.org/airnow/today/cur_aqi_sanfrancis...

Re: Realtime California Air Quality

#50

Post by labster »

ilyagr wrote: post #23

I've found http://www.airnow.gov very helpful and faster to load than the Purple Air map. They also have a simple but efficient app. Airnow's map is slow to load, but shows smoke, air monitors (including the Purple Air ones^[footnote]), and fires all at once: https://fire.airnow.gov/?lat=37.40&lng=-122.077&zoom=10# A less detailed, fast, static map for the SF Bay Area is available at http://www.baaqmd.gov . Last, but…

There's doesn't seem to be any way to to get air quality in terms of ozone on PurpleAir, but there is on AirNow.
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