Breathe easier with personalised air quality insights

How is this solution helping athletes protect themselves against the effects of outdoor air pollution?

Spotted: Did you know that in 2019, 99 per cent of the world’s population were living in areas that didn’t meet the WHO’s recommended air quality guidelines? Often, we don’t even notice air pollution, but it can have a hugely negative impact on our health if we’re exposed to it for long enough periods.

Inspired by a shared passion for air quality and improving public health, Louise Thomas and William Hicks founded Air Aware Labs. The UK-based startup helps people take control of their health and protect themselves against polluted air with GPS-linked, real-time air quality modelling.

The company has created a Strava integration that provides users with personalised air pollution insights after every outdoor run, hike, or bike ride based on the levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrous oxide pollution. Once they have this data, users can make changes to mitigate exposure to harmful pollutants during their daily exercise.

Louise Thomas told Springwise “As experts, we recognised a gap in how air quality data is communicated and utilised by the general public. We wanted to create a business that provides personal air quality data and also proactively helps people reduce their exposure and improve their health and performance.”

Air Aware Labs is currently focused on refining its algorithms to improve their accuracy and linking to more platforms beyond Strava, as well as launching new features to boost user engagement and drive meaningful behaviour change.

As part of this, on 7th September 2024 (the International Day of Clear Air for Blue Skies) the startup announced the launch of its AirTrack platform. Available in two subscription tiers, the platform provides users with personalised real-time air quality data, exposure reports and scores, and visualisations based on recent outdoor activities. With these insights, users can identify pollution hotspots and take action to protect themselves and avoid certain places and times of day outside.

Springwise has spotted other ways the general public is being empowered to improve air quality, including a social movement in Poland and locally owned air quality sensors.

Written By: Matilda Cox

This article was updated on 7th September 2024.