Is Data Science the Answer to the Misery of the Environment?

Posted by Steve rose on January 22nd, 2020

This is an article on disruptive technologies. It is not an article intended to spread awareness about the environment. But it does talk about the environment and the plight that it is facing. It is time for young Delhiites to get into data science courses in Delhi. Because it is time to depend on the former to save the latter.

The unit used to measure the quality of air is called AQI, which stands for air quality index. The AQI is separately measured for each element present in the air. The primary air pollutants are called the particulate matters. These are of two kinds Pm10 and Pm2.5. The former consists of particles with a radius smaller than 10 micrometers and the latter has particles with radii less than 2.5 micrometers. These particles can travel deep into the human lung and cause serious problems. The air is considered unhealthy if the presence of particulate matter is between 100 and 150 AQI and hazardous if it is more than 300 AQI. In some parts of Delhi it is 586 AQI. In Mumbai, it is more than 800. And this just the air.

How can data science change anything?

If you think about it, the knowledge we have of the deplorable condition of the air in Delhi, we owe to data. And it has taken a lot of data analysis to arrive at these figures. If data science can be used to diagnose the disease, it can be used for finding a cure too.

Taking informed decisions

We are all familiar with the phrase, prevention is better than cure. It is a cliche but it works. Data analytics is used by E-commerce companies to predict customer behaviour and trends. It can also be used to predict a drop in the air quality. In Beijing, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things is already being used to tackle air pollution. Connected sensors are used to identify the elements and the sources that contribute to the pollution of the air and to develop solutions to the problems.

The Green Horizon

The Green horizon is a project by IBM which is functional in Beijing at this point. It deploys hundreds of sensors across the city to amass data on traffic levels, exhaust fumes, humidity and particle density. Then it combines this data with historical data to find out patterns. Eventually it forecasts pollution details and designs test scenarios that can be used to enhance air quality.

Intel too has launched a Micro Climate Monitoring System in association with Bosch. This uses sensors to measure air quality and provide real time and meaningful insights to the authorities, who can use the information to devise a solution.

India is a young country; it deserves cleaner air and a better environment overall. The youth has to understand the positive implications of using data science to find ways of curing and saving the Indian cities. Not only can it help keep the air clean but also to create more opportunities for aspiring data science professionals. 

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Steve rose

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Steve rose
Joined: November 11th, 2019
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