Official Pollution Numbers For Your Phone

Lauren McCarthy | Jan 29, 2013 4:00 pm | 7 comments | 3775 reads

The Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center (BJMEMC) has come out with their first official app for tracking Beijing's pollution. Here's how you can get it and how it stacks up.

Yesterday, Tech in Asia tipped us off to the new app, which is available for both iOS and Android. This app provides pollution readings for Beijing as a whole as well as readings for individual monitoring stations around the city. This is particularly handy for those of us who do not work or live in the vicinity of the American embassy.

In comparison to the US embassy's Twitter @beijingair data, the official numbers have been slightly lower but within the same hazard level. For example, at 11am today, the US embassy's reading was 493; the pollution reading at the nearest EMC station (at Chaoyang Park) was 438.

For more information on the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, read about our visit and tour of their facility here.

Photos: Tech in Asia, Lauren McCarthy

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admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 17:54

nuannuan wrote:
thanks those informations up there,I really need to try one.Seems Totobobo is more cuter than Respro B-) Both are like the gas mask.I had the same experience of suffocating in my previous mask that I bought from Pharmacy...but protect ourself from those hazards is priority.

Respro is for that "Silence of the Lambs" escaped mental patient look
Totobobo is for that "Robot from Outer Space" I'm-just-exploring-this-planet look
the 3M masks are for that "Contagion" look

Books by current and former Beijinger staffers

http://astore.amazon.com/truerunmedia-20

nuannuan's picture nuannuan Submitted by Guest on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 17:13

thanks those informations up there,I really need to try one.Seems Totobobo is more cuter than Respro B-) Both are like the gas mask.I had the same experience of suffocating in my previous mask that I bought from Pharmacy...but protect ourself from those hazards is priority.

britomart's picture britomart Submitted by Guest on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 13:53

Yeah, Respro and Totobobo aren't great for extended walks or exercising. I ride a scooter to work, so works well for me cause I'm sitting most of the time when I'm outside, riding through the traffic fumes. The tight fit of the Respro is a bit uncomfortable, but for me that's just what I want, since I've developed some serious breathing issues after 13 years here.

Doubt wisely; in strange way / To stand inquiring right is not to stray; / To sleep, or run wrong, is. (Donne, Satire III)

admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 06:31

My two cents: if you sweat even a little bit (or breathe a lot and your lungs are filled with life-giving moisture), both the Respro and the Totobobo get very uncomfortable after only about 20 minutes of wear due to condensation buildup that eventually waterlogs the filters and makes them hard to breathe through.

I almost suffocated on my 25-minute walk to work yesterday in a Totobobo as the moisture from my breath waterlogged the filter after about 20 minutes.

Respro wears very tight against your face and I find that uncomfortable as well. Respro is probably your most expensive solution as well.

Totobobo is also more expensive than most.

I've found 3m 8511 masks (see on taobao below, about RMB 15 each):

http://s.taobao.com/search?q=3m+8511&commend=all&ssid=s5-e&search_type=item&sourceId=tb.index&initiative_id=tbindexz_20130130

are my favorite as the filter is somewhat cup-shaped that makes it comfortable, two sturdy straps and a "m-bar" that allows you to form ft the mask over the bridge of your nose. It also has a condensation valve that prevents waterlogging (though if you are doing heavy exercise this will get waterlogged with sweat/condensation as well, usually after about 30 minutes of jogging.)

Books by current and former Beijinger staffers

http://astore.amazon.com/truerunmedia-20

britomart's picture britomart Submitted by Guest on Tue, 01/29/2013 - 19:04

I use a Respro Techno mask (with a carbon filter) for the winter and a Totobobo mask for the summer.

Respro is a bike courier mask imported from the UK. Totobobo is a mask imported from Singapore, developed originally, I believe, for workmen whose jobs put them in very dusty and/or highly polluted conditions. Totobobo is the best choice for kids or anyone with particularly small features, since it can be cut to fit the size of your face.

You can get the Respro at Natooke, the bike shop on Wudaoying, and also on Natooke's Taobao shop. I've also seen it on ijustwannabuy.com

Totobobo is available at NLGX shop on Nanluoguoxiang, as well as at the Torana Clean Air Center up in Shunyi. I've also seen it available on taobao from a ton of sellers.

Just be sure to replace the filters regularly. I replace the Respro filter every 20-30 days, and Totobobo filters about every two weeks. If it's been as dirty as these last two weeks, I'd replace the filters sooner rather than later.

Doubt wisely; in strange way / To stand inquiring right is not to stray; / To sleep, or run wrong, is. (Donne, Satire III)

nuannuan's picture nuannuan Submitted by Guest on Tue, 01/29/2013 - 17:43

It is time to focus on how to reduce the pollution instead of you know....we barely breathe outside..I have to drive a lot during these days which makes me feel even more bad! Dose a mask help? Have you ever doubted the fabric of it?..and these are stressing me out..~X( ~X(

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