What would we do without Google? For most of us, it’s the first thing we see when we open our internet server and living without it would be difficult. It functions as our encyclopaedia, our doctor, our GPS and our mood-board all at once. Whenever we’ve got a question we don’t know the answer to, we as Google. And when we’ve got a headache, we soon get convinced of the fact that we’ve got some incurable disease, before our actual doctor tells us it’s just a cold. And even now, the functions Google has on offer still manage to surprise us.
We all know about Google Maps. Most of us have got the app on our smartphone and as soon as we need to get somewhere, even if it’s just a 10 minute drive, we put in our destination “just to be sure”. It’s the perfect tool for road trips to and thanks to the handy traffic updates, you know in advance if you’re in for a good old traffic jam or not, if you better take the highway or some kind of sneaky backroad. But there’s more.
Fresh air for your health
In the United States, Google now tells you where to go if you’re in need of some fresh air. You get an easy overview on the map of places where the air quality is great at that moment, something which nowadays seems quite handy. To do so, Google uses information provided by government instances and PurpleAir, which allows for a more local perspective. At the moment, the service is thus limited to the United States but chances are, the service will someday be available in other parts of the world as well.
Of course, breathing in some fresh air is something we all enjoy but more than that, it’s a matter of staying healthy. According to the European Environment Agency, “exposure to fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide levels above the World Health Organization recommendations cause an estimated 238,000 and 49,000 premature deaths, respectively, in 2020.” Having regular access to clean air, both indoors and outdoors, is therefore of great importance. If you can’t wait for the Google Maps feature to arrive where you’re living, tools such as the European Air Quality Index can give you an idea of the air quality where you’re at.
