We’re deep into summertime in the Northern Hemisphere, and over the last decade or so, that’s meant one increasingly common phenomenon: wildfires. While climate change continues to increase deadly weather events, monitoring the air quality of your environment is more vital than ever before. To make it a little easier to catch info at a glance, Google’s adding a new badge to its Nest Hubs to help users track the air around them.
The AQI (Air Quality Index) infographic will start appearing on the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max’s Ambient display over the coming weeks in select US markets, built into its own card and paired with a smaller badge in the clock and weather widget. If you’d rather use voice commands, both smart displays now support “What’s the air quality near me?” as a voice command, with the option to deliver alerts whenever air conditions become dangerous for at-risk demographics.
Introducing Air Quality on #NestHub and #NestHubMax
Select U.S. areas can:
⏰Add AQI in the clock/weather widget
📣Get alerts when air quality drops to an unhealthy level
📝See a list of nearby air quality stations at https://t.co/uZU5HxCha7Learn more at https://t.co/K62qfUOMzU pic.twitter.com/wrrwy6C8nD
— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) August 11, 2021
Google is pulling this information directly from the US AQI, the EPA’s source for reporting and monitoring air quality throughout the country. The badge is simple enough to read, pairing a numerical rating with a color-coded bar chart. If you don’t need the AQI displayed, it can be disabled in the settings menu, though it’s undoubtedly a metric worth keeping an eye on. If you’re looking to find your nearest air quality station, you can do so at airnow.gov.
