New app shows air quality in every point of Stockholm

Luft Stockholm is like a weather forecast app but for air

On 4 May the City Council of Stockholm launched a new app, aimed at residents of the Swedish capital, which shows the air quality in different points of the municipal territory. The aim of this new tool (called Luft Stockholm (meaning Air Stockholm) is to provide more transparency to citizens and give them complete information on the health risks associated with living and working in a particular area thanks to fine-tuned forecasts that show the level of pollen or pollution present in the atmosphere.

It combines a variety of features

The City of Stockholm encourages its residents to download the new app (available for Android and iOS) and consider using it the way they would use a weather forecast instrument. The benefits of Luft Stockholm are that one can consult data for various points of the city and compare them.

It weighs the city's measurements of air pollution with weather data from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) and pollen forecasts from the Swedish Museum of Natural History. The app also shows how the levels have changed in recent days and weeks. In the personal health diary, users can compare how they feel about the levels of various air pollutants and birch pollen in order to better understand what can cause any health problems they may be experiencing.

The Luft Stockholm app has been developed by the environmental administration in collaboration with the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umeå University and the Palynological Laboratory at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. The Asthma and Allergy Association has also supported the development of this digital tool. The project is part of the City of Stockholm's initiative ‘Smart and connected city’.