资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

In 2019, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) made recommendations for Kazakhstan to improve how it raises awareness on air pollution and alerts the public of high pollution levels, including by involving citizen science. Since, 50 LED screens have lit up across Almaty, displaying air quality data drawing from citizens.

In early 2017, Pavel Plotitsyn, an IT expert from Kazakhstan, stepped onto the balcony of his new apartment in Almaty, to enjoy a panoramic view of the ancient city. Instead, he saw a sky thick with smog.

“When I wanted to bring fresh air into my flat, it smelt like someone was burning rubber,” he recalls.

Plotitsyn decided to take matters into his own hands. He ordered affordable air quality monitoring devices online and installed one on his balcony. He published his readings of PM2.5 particulate matter — tiny particles that can reach people’s lungs and lead to premature death — on social media.

“The numbers were really shocking,” he says. “In parts of the city, levels of PM2.5 could easily top 300μg/m3 for several consecutive days in winter”. The maximum safe limit recommended by the World Health Organisation is 25μg/m3.

Soon, friends and neighbours asked Plotitsyn for help in installing devices for their homes, with readings published on the website. When pollution levels passed safe thresholds, sensors were marked in red. Today, 18 sensors are in place across Almaty, with more covering five other cities in the country, and thousands of people check Airkaz.org daily.