City shines a light on air quality for Clean Air Day
Jun. 28/23
Change for Climate is a climate change initiative from the City of Edmonton.
Jun. 28/23
Change for Climate is a climate change initiative from the City of Edmonton.
The City of Edmonton celebrated Clean Air Day on June 7 by unveiling an innovative way to indicate air quality. Councillor Tim Cartmell (Ward pihêsiwin), joined by City staff, relit an artistic lamp which uses newly developed computer code created by City employees. This smart, colour-changing, LED bulb visually represents the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) for various locations across Alberta.
“We’re pleased to resurrect this wonderful piece of art to provide a visual indicator of local air quality,” said Daryl Croft, Branch Manager, Open City and Technology. “Our great team of employees came together and wrote new, shareable, code that everyone across the city and the province can use to set up their own indicators.”
The new code is the result of an employee innovation event in the City’s Open City and Technology Branch earlier this year, which sought free or low-cost technological solutions to corporate challenges. The code imports air quality data, and when combined with an app connected to a smart LED bulb, provides an easy-to-follow indicator for local air quality. The colours change from blue, for good air quality, through the spectrum to dark red for poor air quality.
“The AQHI Lamp is a small indicator of our larger air quality efforts,” said Chandra Tomaras, Director of Environment and Climate Resilience for Urban Planning and Economy. “We hope that on more days than not, the light will glow blue, indicating the work we’ve put into keeping our air clean and breathable—and our environment healthy.”
The City has set an aggressive target in the Community Energy Transition Strategy to be carbon neutral in its corporate operations by 2040 and for the entire community to produce net zero GHG emissions by 2050. Events like Clean Air Day help to remind us that we all play a role in helping to reduce air pollution, minimize climate change and reduce our carbon footprint and impact on the Earth.
To create your own AQHI Lamp for home, work or school, visit "Take Action" at edmonton.ca/airquality. Discover the AQHI light bulb setup guide and begin the journey of building your very own air quality indicator lamp.
