Up-to-date information on air quality for health benefits in Helsinki region

The project Urban Air Quality 2.0 will bring residents, authorities, and companies in the Greater Helsinki region up-to-date and easily accessible information about the quality of their air. This information may help them e.g. choose a healthier travel route.

The information and predictions on air quality will help citizens avoid pollution and authorities improve the quality of the air.  The need for this is immense; pollutants in the air cause about seven million deaths world-wide annually, more than e.g. smoking causes.

For companies, the increasing awareness of the health effects of pollutants means tightening regulations. Their response to the problems caused by pollution can give them a chance to act as forerunners in their field.

A data platform will be built within the project offering open-access observations and results on air quality in an understandable and accessible format. The data will be based on measurements and modelling. Further, the project will develop new measurements for air quality to help us assess the health impacts of the particles in the atmosphere. 

The project Urban Air Quality 2.0 will create interaction between researchers, residents, app designers, and companies. This will help the project find new uses for data. One example is Green Path, a guide for routes with clean air, which is being developed further.  

Though the project is carried out in the Helsinki region, the data platform it develops will be deployable in any city. The project combines the world-class air-quality expertise from the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, and HSY in a multi-disciplinary way. 

The project is part of the programme Future creators 2021, funded by the centenary foundation of the Technology industry and the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation.

Information

Principal investigator: Professor Tuukka Petäjä

Organisations: The University of Helsinki, The Finnish Meteorological Institute, HSY – the joint municipal board for the Helsinki region environmental services

Allocated funding: 600,000 Euros