Delhi added to NASA's list of cities under 'Air-athon' challenge for tackling pollution

NASA has launched the Air-athon competition to develop models for air pollution in Delhi, Los Angeles and Taipei for people to make informed decisions about their exposure to pollutants. Under this competition, the participants would be required to generate daily estimates of surface-level Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5 across a 5x5km grid using low cost-sensors, meteorological data and satellite imagery. NASA has organised the competition in partnership with DrivenData, a social enterprise using data tools and the crowdsourcing platform HeroX. 

Greg Lipstein, Principal at DrivenData said as per the company's release, "The challenge will test solutions from a global community of experts, with the best approaches automatically rising to the top of the leaderboard". The company said that air pollution is among the greatest environmental threats to human health and that currently there is no satellite that provides ready-to-use, high-resolution information on surface-level air pollutants. It implied that this challenge would narrow the information gap which otherwise prevents millions of people to monitor air quality and manage their exposure to pollutants. 

The problem of nitrogen dioxide, which forms from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, or gas, is also growing which in turn could trigger severe consequences. Although NO2 lasts less than a day in the atmosphere, it can cause respiratory complications including asthma along with the formation of other harmful pollutants. The particulate matter, on the other hand, which is less than 2.5 micrometers in size (PM2.5), lasts weeks in the atmosphere can lead to severe lung problems. 

The challenge is open to anyone aged 18 or older who wishes to participate solo or in a group to bag a winning prize of $50,000 for building a model for NO2 ($25,000) and PM2.5 ($25,000). 

Pollution in Delhi

The condition of pollution in Delhi primarily remains above the risky level, especially during the winters. During the peak winter of December 2021, Delhi's air quality index (AQI) reached as high as 335 and remained over 300 owing to the rising pollution. While AQI between zero to 50 is regarded as "good," 51 to 100 is considered "satisfactory," 101 to 200 is considered "moderate," 201 to 300 is considered "poor," 301 to 400 is considered "very poor," and 401 to 500 is regarded "severe."