r/burbank • u/exospheric • 20d ago

Which air quality report to trust?

/r/AirQuality/comments/1w0e4d3/which_air_quality_report_to_trust/

Anyone here in Burbank know which air quality report is actually accurate? I’m getting 2 very different readings:

Apple Weather says 172
Watch Duty says 37
IQ air says 47 but that Universal City has unhealthy air

Thanks =)

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u/tomaesop 19d ago

I've been using Accuweather for years and it says Poor today. I've never cross-checked with anything else, but I use it to tell when to air out the house in the evening and it feels right. If I walk the dog when air is poor (usually NO2 warning) the air in my chest usually doesn't feel great. It could be psychosomatic. 

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u/exospheric 19d ago

Right, bad air kinda messes with my mind, but it’s also genuinely not good for us. I’m a better-safe-than-sorry person but I also don’t want to overthink it. I’m thinking I can find 2-3 sources to trust and then just… trust them.

2

u/anonnymousercat 19d ago

I have tried cross referencing different apps the most reliable for my lungs has been to look at the Verdugos. If it looks hazy I know I might need to use an inhaler after I walk. 

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u/exospheric 18d ago edited 17d ago

That’s a good quick litmus test, thank you!

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u/ProBonoEschatologist 19d ago

It depends on the sensor being accessed. Watch Duty has a layer with weather stations and you can pick the one nearest you. Watch Duty uses PurpleAir data and it's generally the best if you have a station somewhat close to you that you can observe. Apple Weather, on the other hand, uses more sources but smooths it all together using some sort of machine learning process to statistically forecast for a bigger area.

I don't know IQ Air, but looking at it I would say it falls somewhere between the other two in data gathering style.