AccuWeather.com Adds Air Quality Insights to Weather Forecasts in the US and Globally for Greater Health Management

Internationally recognized Plume Labs’ air quality data integrated into AccuWeather forecasts to kick off Air Quality Awareness Week, providing users worldwide with a broad range of health-centric information.

Internationally recognized Plume Labs’ air quality data integrated into AccuWeather forecasts, providing users worldwide with a broad range of health-centric information.

AccuWeather Global Weather Center, May 6, 2020 — Global weather and digital media leader AccuWeather today announced it has integrated vital air quality data and insights into its weather forecasts on accuweather.com. The data is sourced from an exclusive partnership with Paris-based Plume Labs, whose primary focus is making air quality information accessible and empowering to people worldwide for better management of their health and is not available from any other source.

The partnership between AccuWeather and Plume Labs represents the only collaboration to incorporate localized air quality information into weather forecasts for every location around the world, providing AccuWeather web and mobile web users with the most complete and accurate air quality reports, unique forecasts and intelligence regarding how weather impacts their health and wellbeing up to four days ahead. 

Available now, users of the popular weather forecasting site can access air quality data within a widget that includes a rating from Plume Labs’ patented Air Quality Index, communicating the level of air quality in their location or any other location they designate. The air quality scale includes conditions expressed as “Excellent, Fair, Poor, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy and Dangerous,” along with the types of pollutants contributing to the current rating.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths globally are linked to ambient air pollution, mainly from heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections in children. More specifically, the WHO attributes worldwide ambient air pollution as the cause of 29 percent of all deaths and disease from lung cancer; 17 percent of all deaths and disease from acute lower respiratory infection; 24 percent of all deaths from stroke; 25 percent of all deaths and disease from coronary heart disease; and 43 percent of all deaths and disease from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  Some experts put the estimate of untimely deaths due to bad air as high as 20 million people annually worldwide.

As air quality becomes an increasingly poignant focus globally amidst the COVID-19 crisis, which specifically targets people’s respiratory systems, this initiative and further partnership with Plume Labs illustrates AccuWeather’s commitment to making health and well-being a central focus for users.

“We are pleased to drive the charge in providing users with the most accurate weather forecasts, which now include crucial air quality data on a hyper-local scale with global accessibility,” said AccuWeather President Steven R. Smith. “When people understand where the worst air is, they can plan to avoid it and minimize the adverse impact it can take on their health. With heightened awareness of people’s health and well-being due to COVID-19, now is the perfect time to build awareness of this opportunity to minimize exposure to bad air, putting people in greater control of their health and safety.”

The index connects users to a summary explaining why certain groups of people, such as those with respiratory issues, may be more affected by poor air quality than others. Insights are available on a hyper-local scale with global accessibility.

A mapping tool provides users with a bird’s-eye view of air quality conditions in their chosen region and a module, which tracks hour-by-hour location-based insights will help for daily planning purposes. In addition to these features, a 24-hour and four-day forecast is available for localized planning, anywhere in the world. The combination of features and information seeks to minimize the impact of bad air on families, businesses and communities, while collectively reducing potential for emergencies and even the loss of life.

"With the right insights at the right time, avoiding exposure to air pollution is possible," says Romain Lacombe, CEO and founder of Plume Labs. "Our mission is to make air quality information accessible to everyone. This partnership with AccuWeather is a decisive step to raise awareness of clean air at a planetary scale."

The integration of the air quality forecast is the latest weather and health innovation from AccuWeather, which continues to be responsive to consumer input and demand in making health and wellness a central focus to its extensive and growing menu of digital features.

• In March, AccuWeather added a COVID-19 Tracker Map to its website with data from John’s Hopkins University that indicates the number of cases, mortality rates, number of recoveries as well as the geographic spread of the virus throughout the world. The mapping tool also provides relevant content and the latest news surrounding developments with COVID-19, especially those related to the role of weather and its impact on the pandemic.

• The Allergy Indicator page on AccuWeather’s digital properties was updated and enhanced to provide a more in-depth view of increased allergy levels in a specific area with easy-to-read maps to identify geographical areas of vulnerability. AccuWeather expanded its Allergy section right on the app’s home screen to include impact levels of the five top allergens – tree pollen, grass pollen, ragweed pollen, mold, and dust and dander. Notably, AccuWeather will be further upgrading its pollen/allergy forecast capability with data sets from Plume Labs later this year.

• In a research partnership with the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia, cutting-edge flu forecasting technology is now delivered to app users, helping to increase flu knowledge and awareness throughout the United States. The 2019 and 2020 flu season alone has been more active than normal, according to the Institute. With increased awareness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that there have been 1.5 million more doses of flu vaccine administered this year compared with last year.

• AccuWeather introduced its RealFeel® Temperature Guide to help people maximize their health, safety and comfort when outdoors. This latest one-of-a-kind and important reference tool, enables individuals and families to assess how the weather conditions impact their bodies and activities. The guide incorporates the patented and unique AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature, invented by AccuWeather more than 20 years ago to help people determine how the air feels outside and has been available on the company’s apps and accuweather.com web site since then. It is the only measure that includes the effects of all the weather factors that impact how humans feel and perceive the air outside. Multiple patents ensure that the AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature is the only index that considers more than temperature plus one additional variable. In fact, it uses more than a dozen atmospheric factors to provide the only accurate measure of how current or forecasted weather conditions “feel.”

• AccuWeather’s RealFeel Shade™ indicator was added to its digital-based products to help users determine what the air will feel like in the shade, which is extremely helpful when planning outdoor activities because the variance of just a few degrees can feel significantly different.

• The addition of a UV Index to forecasting information on AccuWeather platforms gives users a clearer understanding of how powerful the sun’s rays will be, helping with planning for outdoor activities and mitigating overexposure to the sun; the dangers of which have been related to heat stroke, dehydration, and even skin cancer.

The company holds more than 150 unique patents and has more than 250 pending patent applications globally, and has made significant advancements in many scientific fields, developing thousands of other innovations and intellectual property, many of which have received awards.  The integration of Plume Labs world-class air quality data into AccuWeather’s digital assets is another step forward in that leadership.

About AccuWeather, Inc. and accuweather.com — AccuWeather, recognized and documented as the most accurate source of weather forecasts and warnings in the world, has saved tens of thousands of lives, prevented hundreds of thousands of injuries and tens of billions of dollars in property damage. With global headquarters in State College, PA and other offices around the world, AccuWeather serves more than 1.5 billion people daily to help them plan their lives and get more out of their day through digital media properties, such as accuweather.com and mobile, as well as radio, television, newspapers, and the 24/7 AccuWeather Network channel. Additionally, AccuWeather produces and distributes news, weather content, and video for more than 180,000 third-party websites. Among AccuWeather’s many innovative and award-winning features available free to the public are MinuteCast^® Minute by Minute™ forecasts with Superior Accuracy™. Furthermore, AccuWeather serves more than half of Fortune 500 companies and thousands of businesses globally. Dr. Joel N. Myers, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, established AccuWeather in 1962 and is considered the “father of modern commercial meteorology.” Dr. Myers, a leading creative thinker and visionary, has been named “the most accurate man in weather” by The New York Times and one of the top entrepreneurs in American history by Entrepreneur’s Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs.

AccuWeather, RealFeel, RealFeel Shade, WinterCast, and MinuteCast are all registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature, AccuWeatherIQ, AccuWeather RealImpact, AccuWeather RI, AccuWeather MinuteCast, AccuWeather Network, Minute by Minute and Superior Accuracy are all trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All other trademarks, product names and logos are the property of their respective owners.

The AccuWeather app for Android phone and tablet users is free at the Google Play store. The AccuWeather iOS app is free at www.AppStore.com. Visit accuweather.com for additional information.

About Plume Labs and PlumeLabs.com - Plume Labs is an environmental tech company on a mission to make air pollution information accessible and empowering. The company designed Flow, the award-winning personal air pollution sensor, to help consumers track and understand their exposure to air pollution, how it affects their health and wellness, and how to take action to avoid exposure. In November 2019, Plume Labs released Flow 2, an update on its iconic product, that now tracks nano-particulates, the most harmful category of particulate matter. 

By gathering data from the most comprehensive sources of air pollution information around the world, Plume Labs builds global maps and forecasts of air quality levels with unprecedented accuracy and granularity. Its data platform is available to consumers through a web and mobile app, and for corporate customers through a global, real-time air quality data API. 

Plume Labs was founded in 2014 by Romain Lacombe and David Lissmyr. Plume Labs raised $6M to date and its team of 25 is headquartered in Paris, France. The company received international industry accolades from a CES Innovation Award in 2017 to the prestigious Red Dot Product Design Award 2019, and FastCompany ranked it among the top 10 most innovative companies of 2019 in consumer electronics.

Flow 2 by Plume Labs, the Air Pollution Sensor, is available in the US and Europe on the Plume Labs online store and on Amazon.

The Plume Labs World Air Quality Map is available online at air.plumelabs.com.

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