Welcome to Breathe Baltimore: A Community-Based Air Quality Monitoring Project in Baltimore
Breathe Baltimore is a collaborative effort and co-led by the Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative (EJJI) and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). The project’s goal is to create a low-cost air quality monitoring network that can provide data to support communities suffering from poor air quality in South Baltimore.
The project’s goal is to create a low-cost air quality monitoring network that can provide data to support communities suffering from poor air quality in South Baltimore.
We're currently in the first phase of setting up and testing 15 sensors—most are in South Baltimore with others around the city. These sensors will measure particulate pollution, ozone, and other emissions, and the data will be made available to the public.
One sensor has been deployed, testing is underway, and the additional 14 sites are still being selected. SERC and EJJI are committed to choosing sites relevant to Baltimore communities and understanding city pollution patterns.
Breathe Baltimore team pose by the first deployed sensor in West Covington Park. Photo by Anna Hedinger.
A close-up of the first deployed sensor. There are multiple LED lights that light up a color based on the level of each air pollutant measured in that location. Photo by Anna Hedinger.
Lydia LaGorga, a technician in the Technology in Ecology Lab, sets up the air quality sensors for first round of outside testing on SERC's Edgewater campus. Photo by Anna Hedinger.
This project is made possible by funding from the Our Shared Future: Life on a Sustainable Planet initiative.
The Breathe Baltimore logo was created by EJJI. Top photo by Veronica Lucchese.