SAN FRANCISCO, July 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weather
Company, an IBM Business (NYSE: IBM) announced today a
collaboration with air quality sensor manufacturer PurpleAir to
expand the availability of hyperlocal air quality and pollution
data for the general public. As a result of this agreement, owners
of PurpleAir devices now have the ability to contribute data from
their units to Weather Underground, a consumer division of The
Weather Company, which will display sensor readings and maps on its
website to provide one of the most granular pictures available of
air pollution within the United
States.
According to the World Health Organization, exposure to outdoor
air pollution has been linked to roughly three million
deaths a year worldwide. Because air pollution is not an
immediate, high-profile disaster like a tornado or hurricane, many
people don't realize its effects.
As federal funding for environmental monitoring and reporting
diminishes, individuals and organizations are looking to the
private sector to provide accurate, reliable air quality data. As
part of its dedication to climate science, Weather Underground is
expanding its environmental sensor network to help fill in those
data gaps. With over 250,000 personal weather stations across the
world, Weather Underground is able to provide millions of people
with real-time weather data. In an effort to provide the public
with localized air quality information, Weather Underground will
add PurpleAir sensors to its network and offer the data on its
website, wunderground.com.
"We're incredibly excited to work with PurpleAir to provide the
public with free access to reliable air quality data," said
Kourosh Karimkhany, head of Weather
Underground. "Knowing the level of air quality in their city or
neighborhood enables people to make more informed decisions about
daily activities that may directly impact their health and
well-being."
Through this alliance with PurpleAir, millions will gain access
to local air pollution data within cities and neighborhoods via the
Weather Underground website. Individuals interested in contributing
air quality data via a PurpleAir sensor can join the Weather
Underground network here.
The Weather Company, an IBM Business
The Weather
Company helps people take action in the face of weather. As part of
IBM's Watson Content & IoT Platform, it powers new
possibilities of decision making, informed by billions of data
inputs and enabled by leading cognitive technology. The company
offers personalized insights and the most accurate forecasts
globally to millions of consumers and thousands of marketers and
businesses through its business solutions division and its own
digital products from The Weather Channel and Weather
Underground.
The company delivers around 25 billion forecasts daily. Its
products include the world's most downloaded weather app, a network
of 250,000 personal weather stations, a top-20 U.S. website, one of
the world's largest IoT data platforms, and industry-leading
business solutions. Weather Means Business™ -- the world's biggest
brands in aviation, energy, insurance, media and government rely on
The Weather Company for data, technology platforms and services to
help improve decision-making and respond to weather's impact on
business. For more, visit theweathercompany.com.
About PurpleAir
PurpleAir is an air quality
monitoring network built on a new generation of laser particle
counters and the Internet of Things. We produce affordable,
validated and easy to use air sensors to enable the citizen
scientist to take part in collecting air quality data. For
additional information, visit www.purpleair.com or email
contact@purpleair.com.
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SOURCE The Weather Company, an IBM Business