LONDON, Researchers and artists came together for a so-called "Painting with Light" international project to make invisible air pollution in India visible, demonstrating the health threats it poses to the population.
By combining digital light painting and low-cost air pollution sensors, the scientific team created photographic evidence of pollution levels in cities in three countries – India, Ethiopia and the UK – to spark debate among local communities.
Their findings, published in 'Nature Communications Earth & Environment' on Wednesday, show how the photographs, taken as part of the 'Winds of the Anthropocene' initiative, have inspired discussion about the impact of air pollution in India in pictures. Including two children's playgrounds 500 km apart – one in urban Delhi, the other in rural Palampur – particulate matter (PM2.5) values at the Palampur playground were 12.5 times lower than those in Delhi.
“Air pollution is the major global environmental risk factor."By painting with light to create impressive images, we provide people with an easy way to compare air pollution in different contexts – making something that was largely invisible, visible," said the University of Birmingham and co. -Author: Environmental scientist Professor Francis Pope -Creator of the project along with artist Robin Price.
He said, "Winds of the Anthropocene creates space and space for discussion about air pollution, using art as a proxy to communicate and create dialogue about issues related to air pollution.“Air pollution also varies dramatically between locations in Ethiopia – kitchens using biomass stoves to prepare food where PM2.5 concentrations in the room were 20 times higher than those measured in the surrounding outdoor environment.
In Wales, large variations in air pollution around the Tata Steel-owned Port Talbot steelworks revealed that air quality monitoring and light painting during summer evenings measured higher concentrations of PM 2.5 than the average value per hour. gone. Particulate matter, or PM, is the air pollutant responsible for most human morbidity and mortality. It has many effects on physical health and is responsible for diseases including heart disease, stroke and cancer.The "Painting with Light" team used low-cost air pollution sensors to measure PM mass concentrations. Real-time signals from sensors are required to control a moving LED array programmed to flash more rapidly as PM concentrations increase."By providing a visual understanding of air pollution that is accessible to those with While not necessarily having a scientific background, the light painting approach can demonstrate that managing air pollution levels can have a significant impact on people's daily lives." “Maybe,” photographer Price shared. A long exposure photograph is taken with the artist moving the LED array in front of the camera, the flash becoming a dot on the photograph.The cast is not visible in the photo because they are moving, but the flashes of light from the LEDs are visible because they are bright. The more points of light visible in the photographs, the higher the PM concentration.
Co-author Carlo Luiu, from the University of Birmingham, commented: "Thanks to the power of images, we can provoke people's emotions – raising awareness and getting people to share their perspectives and take action to tackle air pollution. "The Winds of the Anthropocene project has been exhibited in gallery shows in Los Angeles, Belfast and Birmingham. The project has also been used by the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development to raise air pollution awareness.Office (FCDO) and UN-Habitat, which prepared four pollution light images and text to display. The work has started. In Kampala, Uganda.
Air pollution is considered one of the main threats to both the environment and human health and a leading cause of death globally.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 99 percent of the global population breathes polluted air, causing about 7 million premature deaths worldwide each year. "The situation is particularly acute in Asia," Birmingham said. is challenging, where air pollution remains a major problem in countries such as India and China despite several air quality policies and actions.“African countries have experienced significant deterioration in air quality over the past five decades,” the statement noted.
By combining digital light painting and low-cost air pollution sensors, the scientific team created photographic evidence of pollution levels in cities in three countries – India, Ethiopia and the UK – to spark debate among local communities.
Their findings, published in 'Nature Communications Earth & Environment' on Wednesday, show how the photographs, taken as part of the 'Winds of the Anthropocene' initiative, have inspired discussion about the impact of air pollution in India in pictures. Including two children's playgrounds 500 km apart – one in urban Delhi, the other in rural Palampur – particulate matter (PM2.5) values at the Palampur playground were 12.5 times lower than those in Delhi.
“Air pollution is the major global environmental risk factor."By painting with light to create impressive images, we provide people with an easy way to compare air pollution in different contexts – making something that was largely invisible, visible," said the University of Birmingham and co. -Author: Environmental scientist Professor Francis Pope -Creator of the project along with artist Robin Price.
He said, "Winds of the Anthropocene creates space and space for discussion about air pollution, using art as a proxy to communicate and create dialogue about issues related to air pollution.“Air pollution also varies dramatically between locations in Ethiopia – kitchens using biomass stoves to prepare food where PM2.5 concentrations in the room were 20 times higher than those measured in the surrounding outdoor environment.
In Wales, large variations in air pollution around the Tata Steel-owned Port Talbot steelworks revealed that air quality monitoring and light painting during summer evenings measured higher concentrations of PM 2.5 than the average value per hour. gone. Particulate matter, or PM, is the air pollutant responsible for most human morbidity and mortality. It has many effects on physical health and is responsible for diseases including heart disease, stroke and cancer.The "Painting with Light" team used low-cost air pollution sensors to measure PM mass concentrations. Real-time signals from sensors are required to control a moving LED array programmed to flash more rapidly as PM concentrations increase."By providing a visual understanding of air pollution that is accessible to those with While not necessarily having a scientific background, the light painting approach can demonstrate that managing air pollution levels can have a significant impact on people's daily lives." “Maybe,” photographer Price shared. A long exposure photograph is taken with the artist moving the LED array in front of the camera, the flash becoming a dot on the photograph.The cast is not visible in the photo because they are moving, but the flashes of light from the LEDs are visible because they are bright. The more points of light visible in the photographs, the higher the PM concentration.
Co-author Carlo Luiu, from the University of Birmingham, commented: "Thanks to the power of images, we can provoke people's emotions – raising awareness and getting people to share their perspectives and take action to tackle air pollution. "The Winds of the Anthropocene project has been exhibited in gallery shows in Los Angeles, Belfast and Birmingham. The project has also been used by the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development to raise air pollution awareness.Office (FCDO) and UN-Habitat, which prepared four pollution light images and text to display. The work has started. In Kampala, Uganda.
Air pollution is considered one of the main threats to both the environment and human health and a leading cause of death globally.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 99 percent of the global population breathes polluted air, causing about 7 million premature deaths worldwide each year. "The situation is particularly acute in Asia," Birmingham said. is challenging, where air pollution remains a major problem in countries such as India and China despite several air quality policies and actions.“African countries have experienced significant deterioration in air quality over the past five decades,” the statement noted.