4 ms·

Interesting. This seems like the reasonable way to do it. What global scale would you pick otherwise? And would it be sensitive enough to show gradients in the

Interesting. This seems like the reasonable way to do it. What global scale would you pick otherwise? And would it be sensitive enough to show gradients in the least/most polluted countries and cities or would it just fill them in with one color?

treffer 3y ago
And the image shows that the scale is named differently. So very likely tied to the most common national air quality scale. So it's explicit in what it shows.
amelius 3y ago
Aren't these countries both in the EU? I'd expect an EU-wide scale.
- mikerg87 3y ago
  You are correct they should both be using the Common Air Quality Index (CAQI). There is a new standard the EAQI and perhaps Germany has already switched to that standard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_quality_index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_quality_index
yosito 3y ago
I use US AQI, and hadn't really realized that many countries have their own measurement. I also usually look at µg/m3 of PM2.5, which is a universal standard, but of course doesn't tell the whole story of air quality.
owl110 3y ago
I think the problem is that the colors have different meaning. The values in the screenshot for Amsterdam using the NL scale translates to 'insufficient' and while the DE scale translates to 'good' for the same city at the same time. At the very least, it means that a user cannot use these scales for inference without knowing/understanding the technology behind them. This is probably not the intention behind showing an air quality indicator in the iOS app.
- joshgachnang 3y ago
  The colors having different meanings shouldn't come up in typical cases, because who's looking at their air quality map from two different countries? There's also a key to the upper left. It's interesting and well designed IMO. I don't think this actually causes issues for any users.
  - capitainenemo 3y ago
    The difficulty seems to be that depending on what country you are in, the colours you are used to will have different meanings. Hopefully the german definition of good air quality isn't too overly optimistic, or someone with actual health issues might get a surprise if they are used to being ok on days with a certain "colour" when traveling.
    - hombre_fatal 3y ago
      Well, they said the AQ for NL was “insufficient” but the same value was “good” according to Germany. So it’s not just different colors, it’s different standards for AQ. I guess you’re proposing that the AQ meter always use the scale of your home country. Doesn’t seem unreasonable but also seems like a quibble so tiny that it could be defeated if someone more knowledgeable offered a single reason against it.
      - capitainenemo 3y ago
        Hm. That seemed unnecessarily contentious. We were largely in agreement. Yes, the german one is using more lax standards, as I was saying, hopefully not too lax, but yes, the colours indicate entirely different standards. And yes, I think a simple solution would be to use the colour of your home country that you are used to. Presumably if you moved, you could just learn the standards of your new country. A consistent standard that you can rely on in your phone when on a trip to another country definitely seems more useful if you are actually relying on this iOS app. It could be a simple app pref, a little toggle switch..
  - deleted 3y ago

treffer 3y ago

And the image shows that the scale is named differently. So very likely tied to the most common national air quality scale. So it's explicit in what it shows.

amelius 3y ago

Aren't these countries both in the EU? I'd expect an EU-wide scale.

mikerg87 3y ago
You are correct they should both be using the Common Air Quality Index (CAQI). There is a new standard the EAQI and perhaps Germany has already switched to that standard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_quality_index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_quality_index

yosito 3y ago

I use US AQI, and hadn't really realized that many countries have their own measurement. I also usually look at µg/m3 of PM2.5, which is a universal standard, but of course doesn't tell the whole story of air quality.

owl110 3y ago

I think the problem is that the colors have different meaning. The values in the screenshot for Amsterdam using the NL scale translates to 'insufficient' and while the DE scale translates to 'good' for the same city at the same time. At the very least, it means that a user cannot use these scales for inference without knowing/understanding the technology behind them. This is probably not the intention behind showing an air quality indicator in the iOS app.

joshgachnang 3y ago
The colors having different meanings shouldn't come up in typical cases, because who's looking at their air quality map from two different countries? There's also a key to the upper left. It's interesting and well designed IMO. I don't think this actually causes issues for any users.
- capitainenemo 3y ago
  The difficulty seems to be that depending on what country you are in, the colours you are used to will have different meanings. Hopefully the german definition of good air quality isn't too overly optimistic, or someone with actual health issues might get a surprise if they are used to being ok on days with a certain "colour" when traveling.
  - hombre_fatal 3y ago
    Well, they said the AQ for NL was “insufficient” but the same value was “good” according to Germany. So it’s not just different colors, it’s different standards for AQ. I guess you’re proposing that the AQ meter always use the scale of your home country. Doesn’t seem unreasonable but also seems like a quibble so tiny that it could be defeated if someone more knowledgeable offered a single reason against it.
    - capitainenemo 3y ago
      Hm. That seemed unnecessarily contentious. We were largely in agreement. Yes, the german one is using more lax standards, as I was saying, hopefully not too lax, but yes, the colours indicate entirely different standards. And yes, I think a simple solution would be to use the colour of your home country that you are used to. Presumably if you moved, you could just learn the standards of your new country. A consistent standard that you can rely on in your phone when on a trip to another country definitely seems more useful if you are actually relying on this iOS app. It could be a simple app pref, a little toggle switch..
- deleted 3y ago