Keep track of pollution levels with mobile app

While increasing levels of pollution in metropolitan cities has been a cause for concern, here is an app that gives updates on the level of toxicity in the air, suggests precautions to be taken and will alert the user if pollution exceeds safety levels.

Helpchat India is a personal assistant app, which now has a feature on pollution to raise awareness and help the public get a picture of the extent of pollution in their vicinity.

Users will get updates about the Air Quality Index. The index will read from zero to 500, zero being the cleanest, a release from Helpchat stated. If the toxicity crosses a certain point, it will alert the user. Another detail it would provide is the areas that one should avoid in their city. The app also tracks weather conditions and updates the user.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Kali Charan Shukla, Vice President, Marketing, Helpchat India, said the app aims to provide solutions to issues concerning every day life. “Pollution has become a big thing now. There is no easy way for people to know the extent of pollution around them.”

Shukla believed that the first step to action was awareness. “First there has to be awareness. Then comes the willingness to act,” he said explaining the relevance of the feature. In fact, the team also hoped that the app would help the cause taken up by the Delhi government in reducing traffic to combat high level of pollution. “If users keep getting updates about the pollution levels, it will encourage them to act,” he added.

The app has had 1.5 million downloads, Shukla stated. The data on pollution is available for more than 40 cities across the country, Bengaluru being one of them. A user can get details about the level of pollution in any area of the city. The app makes use of data from relevant government departments, makes it reader friendly and embellishes it with additional inputs.