This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Wanna Check Air Quality? There's An App For That

The American Lung Association is now offering a free smartphone application that provides detailed info on air quality wherever you happen to be.

Curious about the quality of air you're breathing?

The American Lung Association in Los Angeles has announced a free smartphone application that provides detailed information about air quality wherever you happen to be.

"More than 90 percent of people in California live in areas where air pollution continues to threaten their health," said Jane Warner, president and CEO of the American Lung Association in California. "The State of the Air app is especially valuable during the summertime, when ozone pollution peaks in many cities with long hot sunny days."

Find out what's happening in Cerritos-Artesiawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Available for both Apple and Android, the application is designed to be helpful for people who live with lung diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart diseases or diabetes, according to the association.

The app can also be useful for people planning outdoor activities, agency officials said.

Find out what's happening in Cerritos-Artesiawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to the association's State of the Air 2012 report, more than 127.2 million people live in U.S. counties with dangerous levels of ozone or particle pollution.

The State of the Air app allows users to enter a ZIP code and or use the "geo-locator" function to get up-to-date air quality conditions and the next-day air quality forecast. The app also tracks ozone and particle pollution levels, and alerts users if local air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse.

The app also allows users to share their local air quality via email, Facebook or Twitter. Users can also sign up to receive information from the association and send emails to members of Congress through the app's "speak up" function.

According to the Lung Association, the app bases its air quality information on data made available to the public by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Cerritos-Artesia