Combating Pollution in China with Smartphone App

Last week Beijing issued its first pollution red alert and it made everyone realized how serious pollution issue is in the Chinese capital. Since June 2013 China had imposed a regulation to indict polluters with a criminal punishment, even a death penalty. Now, new smartphone app and pollution monitoring device allowing citizens to contribute more to combat pollution in China, which is visible from space.

Bloomberg reported that a group of organization, including the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) and the Alibaba Foundation have created an application called Azure Map. The application is providing pollution data from more than 3,000 large coal-powered plant, ranging from steel, cement and petrochemical plant. Previously in July, a Swiss-based Origins Technology Ltd. had begun to sell its handheld air quality monitoring device.

IPE, a Beijing-based environmental non-profit organization has developed pollution database to monitor corporate environmental performance, in order to expand environmental information disclosure. When such information is available for public, people will understand the hazards and risks of pollution, thus public participation in environmental governance will increase.

Numerous smartphone applications are also available for public to participate in monitoring pollution in China. Apps just like those developed by SINA Corp. and Moji Fengyun Software Technology Development Co., helped people in China to access real-time air quality data.

China has deployed high tech in a battle against pollution, particulary in gathering data. According to South China Morning Post, team of engineers in Beijing's environmental bureau tend to giant mainframe computers that keep a watchful eye on the city's pollution. The monitoring program will take information from various sources: infrared profiles of factory to social media posts, and it can calculate three-day pollution forecasts with resolution of up to 1 square-kilometers and detect trends 10 days out.

The monitoring program was designed by IBM, and is one of several China's government high-tech measures, ranging from drones and satellites to remote sensors to deal with pollution. Zhang Meng, an IBM scientist working on the project with Beijing told South China Morning Post that the technology, "will be able to target specific activities in particular locations and times with the maximum effect, but with much less impact on economic activity and the daily lives of citizens."

The severity of China's pollution, caused by its extensive use of coal for power plant has reached a red alert level. Forbes reported that real-time air quality index (AQI) in Beijing reached 400 micrograms per cubic meter, a level that results in serious risk of adverse respiratory effects in the general population. The haze can even be visible in NASA earth observatory satellite, NPP Suomi.

Technology has been very helpful to help China in gathering data of its pollution. Smartphone app and other monitoring program can provide real-time data of air quality to the public.