Berlin launches a street pollution forecast platform

You can see hour by hour what the air quality will be on your street for the next four days

Berlin has upped the game on providing quality services to its residents with the launch of a new online map that lets users see a forecast of the air pollution on any street in the city. The “Digital Urban Transport Platform” (Digitale Plattform Stadtverkehr) calculates forecasts for nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter pollution on main traffic routes based on measurement data and weather forecasts.

This kind of forecast would be of particular interest to street walkers, runners and cyclists given that they are more exposed to the harmful effects of fine dust particles. Using the platform, pedestrians and cyclists can decide whether to use certain streets that day and plan their day accordingly.

Updated twice a day and colour-coded

The Berlin air quality forecast is carried out on a regular grid of 50x50 m² and updated twice a day. Based on these grid values, the forecasts for individual street sections are then added together and the hourly forecasts for a specific street for the next four days are generated as hourly values. You can consult the map here (only in German).

You’ll notice that the streets are coloured in different shades according to the air quality factor.

Roads with good and very good nitrogen dioxide values ​​below 25 micrograms per cubic meter are marked in dark and light blue. Poorer values ​​from 37.5 micrograms per cubic meter are shown in pink or red. Values ​​in between are marked in yellow.

These limits are even stricter than the ones set by the EU for nitrogen dioxide concentrations on streets with car traffic. According to the bloc’s regulations the NO2 concentrations must not exceed an annual average of 40 micrograms per cubic meter.