Every year, seven million people die from air pollution. According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution is the most serious environmental health risk that people are exposed to. The lack of accurate measurement is one major factor that has hindered India’s fight to combat air pollution. There have been many methods used to monitor the air quality. These include large monitoring stations that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, as well as satellite imagery.
There has been little to no success so far in achieving acceptable accuracy and granularity. Air quality measurements are not available outside of major cities or metros. This is a sign that people are not aware of the quality and impact of air on their health, as well as whether solutions are being implemented to improve it. Traditional methods for monitoring air quality are costly, inefficient, and not financially feasible.
Ambee, an environmental startup that specializes in environmental intelligence, was founded to address this problem.
Ambee was founded in 2017 by Madhusudan, Akshay Joshi, and Jaideep Singh Bachher. It is a climate intelligence company with a mission to help people, businesses, and the environment assess, prepare, and mitigate the impacts of climate change and air pollution.
The startup, based in Bengaluru, creates hyperlocal climate data and intelligence in real time worldwide. It uses proprietary data science to provide location-specific, real time data and actionable insights about air quality, weather, and other environmental factors.
The app provides accurate, location-based air quality readings, accurate hyperlocal pollen readings and alerts in case there is higher pollution. It also provides updates on other environmental factors like temperature rises, rainfall and a seven day weather forecast for the user’s chosen location.
The platform’s data can also be integrated into smart cities, smart buildings, office spaces, and healthcare devices such as fitness apps, air purifiers or air purifiers. Ambee works with organizations in the areas of aviation, home appliances and big data, pharma, insurance, and utilities.
How did it begin?
Madhusudhan Aand, one of the founders of Ambee, suffered a severe breathing problem from air pollution six months ago. Anand began to monitor air quality near his house in an attempt to understand the problem. He discovered that the nearest monitoring station for air quality was located 13km from his house. This suggested that the air quality was in the healthy category.
He built a basic air quality sensor to better understand the air quality near his home. Based on the readings of his air quality sensors, he discovered that the particulate matter levels (PM2.5) near his home reached dangerous levels of 800 ug/m3.
“PM2.5 is smaller that human hair and inhalable particles can cause serious health problems. Unless there is a way to measure and monitor this at a hyperlocal/street-by-street level, there is no other way to mitigate the risks they pose,” Madhusudhan Anand, CTO and co-founder, Ambee told The Logical Indian.
“Air quality varies every few kilometres. The quality of the air we breathe is a direct indicator for our health, both in the short-term and long-term. Air pollution can make it more difficult to avoid certain diseases. Ambee was established to provide easy access to environmental data. It also helps to reduce the risk of climate change.
Challenges And Roadblocks
Anand stated that one of the biggest challenges they faced was the misconceptions people had about the effects of air pollution in the past few years. People and businesses don’t understand the impact of air pollution on each individual. He suggested that people could make healthier decisions at an individual level if they had better air quality data.
“For example, those who ride to work may be motivated to choose a route that is longer but cleaner than the one they have been using. Running and jogging can make a big difference in our overall health. He explained that one could begin making decisions about where to rent a house, or office by looking at historical environmental data.”
The entrepreneur believes that air quality data can be used by anyone. Citing several examples, he said that insurance could work with policyholders to help them improve their health, and reduce risk. If environmental data were considered, drug formulations could be developed faster and more efficiently. Real estate companies will choose cleaner areas for development. They will also make sure that they follow best practices in construction to ensure that the area remains clean.
“When Ambee was founded, very few people understood how important accurate environmental data were. Customers are now showing interest in us. It’s encouraging to see the shift in perception,” Anand said.
More than 1 Lakh users
The app has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times and has had more than 200,000 users. The startup also works with Fortune 500 companies like Airbus, Bosch, and a host other large corporations on the B2B side. Gspatial.ai, which Ambee launched recently, provides historical weather and air quality data for governments and businesses in over 70 countries. The service provides hourly street-bystreet air quality and weather data over a period of 20 years.
“We will soon launch a new product for Smart Farming Data. Anand stated that our mission is to improve the health of millions of people and the planet by developing products that can affect those affected by climate change.
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