14 DAY TRIAL // It’s not a secret that air quality is a big issue in China despite several attempts of the Beijing government to reduce pollution, but Microsoft is now landing a hand to users in the country with Windows Phone and Android apps, as well as a web-based service, which can measure air quality level for 41 cities.
Using cloud power and data imported from monitoring stations belonging to the Chinese government, Microsoft can tell the air quality level on a 300-kilometer area and with even two days in advance.
While the accuracy of the information it provides decreases as you extend the period of the forecast, Microsoft says that a 6-hour prediction has a 75 percent accuracy rate in the Beijing capital.
To allow users to see the information it collects, Microsoft put together Windows Phone and Android apps, as well as a web-based service to analyze the air quality level in 41 cities across the country.
Apps developed by Microsoft Garage
The Your Weather app, for instance, is a project developed by Microsoft Garage and was first presented by the company in February this year.
The apps is developed by Microsoft Research Asia and is supported by China Meteorological Administration and can provide you not only with information on air pollution levels but also with weather information and forecasts on a configured period of time. On Windows Phone, the app can display air quality in a live tile or on the lock screen.
“It provides fine grained air quality and weather reports (unique value for each square kilometer) using advanced algorithms and forecasts air quality for next few days leveraging Microsoft Azure Machine Learning,” Microsoft says in the description of the app.
According to recent data, the cities with the worst air quality in China are Linfen, Yangquan, Datong, Shizuishan, Sanmenxia, Jinchang, Shijiazhuang, Xianyang, Zhuzhou, and Luoyang, whereas the most environmentally friendly cities in the country are Haikou, Zhuhai, Zhanjiang, Guilin, and Beihai.
