biteSizedAQ

September 1, 2026 · View on GitHub

Background

Air pollution can feel like a giant, overwhelming issue, but the goal of this project is to make air quality (AQ) information accessible and understandable for everyone. The name ‘biteSizedAQ’ serves as a reminder that even the largest problems can be tackled with small, manageable steps. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, we can break down the air pollution challenge into smaller tasks, taking each one step at a time. By consistently taking these bite-sized, smart steps, we can collectively make significant progress in managing air pollution.

All projects under this repository are free and open, provided under the CC BY 4.0 International License. This ensures that anyone can use, share, and build upon the work, making air quality information more open and accessible for all.

This repository will continue to grow with new projects as and when I find time. To kick things off, check out the first few projects below!

Dream Tenets

General structure and how to navigate projects in this repo

  • The number prefix at the start of every project folder/Rmd name is the project id under this repo.

  • The latest project will show up top.

  • E.g. Project 1 has the id 1. It corresponds to a project folder named 1.ind.block.pm2.5.sat.data.processing which contains the project’s README file. In case of a project involving code and data an additional Rmd (with the same name as the project folder name) containing code can be found at the root of the biteSizedAQ repo.

  • The corresponding helper R script(s) for different projects can be found under R/ subfolder. These scripts will be grouped in broad themes. E.g. all satellited derived data processing functions will be in the sat data helper script and the names are descriptive enough for it to be easily identifiable.

Project 30: biteSizedVisual #6: Which pollutant sets India’s air quality index, month by month

  • Full blog post: Link

  • Summary: India’s CPCB publishes daily AQI bulletins, which UrbanEmissions.info compiled into a single 2015–2025 table (Link). Across ~470,000 city-day readings from 297 cities, it tracks each day’s “prominent pollutant” — the one that set the AQI — and finds that across 11 years from 2015 to 2025, PM10 (coarse dust) leads on about 49% of city-days and PM2.5 on about 32%, shifting by season: PM2.5 in winter, PM10 summer through monsoon, ozone in the pre-monsoon heat, CO in the rains. Throughout, “prominent” means worst against that pollutant’s own limit that day — not most abundant or most harmful.

    Two season-grouped charts made by biteSizedAQ show the monthly mix and possible explanations behind the patterns. Read the full blog above to learn more.

  • Raw data cleaning code can be found here.

  • High Resolution plots from the blog can be found here.

Project 29: PIB India Environmental Press Releases Log - Tracker

  • Full blog post: Link

  • PIB India Environmental Press Releases Log Tracker Google Sheet: Link

  • Summary: An automated, public tracker that logs India’s pollution-, environment-, and climate-related press releases from the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to a live Google Sheet. Built in R and running on a GitHub Actions schedule, it reads PIB’s RSS feed every couple of hours, scans each release’s full text against a configurable, multi-layered keyword filter (with contextual and co-occurrence rules to catch genuine environmental content while screening out incidental mentions), tags each match with a rough topic category, and appends it to the sheet — deduplicated, so the log grows cleanly into a searchable, linkable archive. The entire scope is driven by a single keyword config file, so anyone can fork the project and repoint it at a different topic without touching the code.

Project 28: 🎉 biteSizedAQ Turns Two!: Coming Clean About the Planet

Two years writing about air pollution, and what it taught me about why we keep solving ourselves into new problems

Link to the full blog post: Link

Project 27: The Same Number on Your Air Quality App Could Be Four Different Kinds of Bad — Based on Where You Are

  • Introduction: Air quality apps give you a number. That number - PM2.5, tells you the weight of tiny particles floating in the air around you. Governments regulate it, doctors cite it, and millions of people check it every morning. But weight turns out to be a surprisingly poor guide to how harmful those particles actually are. The same reading in Delhi, London, Beijing, and Los Angeles can represent four completely different chemical realities — different particle counts, different surface areas, different chemical coatings, different health consequences. This piece explains why, using those four cities as entry points into a problem that affects the air most of the world breathes.

  • Link to the full blog post: Link

Project 26: A Metadata Gap in Global Air Quality Monitoring — and One Paper’s Attempt to Fix It

  • Introduction: Governments around the world have spent decades building networks of air quality monitors — devices that sit beside highways, in city parks, and near factory fences, quietly measuring the air we breathe. But for a surprising share of these monitors, two basic questions went unanswered in official records: what kind of air is this station measuring, and what kind of place is it sitting in?

    A new paper by Renna et al. (2026), published in Scientific Data, set out to fix that. The result is METAIR — the first global harmonized dataset of governmental air quality station metadata for particulate matter, covering roughly 15,000 stations across 106 countries. This post walks through what the dataset reveals, how the researchers filled in the missing labels, and what it means for anyone trying to make sense of air quality data at scale.

  • Link to the full blog post: Link

  • Link to the underlying paper’s (Renna et al) data file used to generate maps: Link

  • Link to the full paper by Renna et al: Link

  • Link to the my Rmd code for reproducing maps: Link

  • Share this visual with others!

Project 25: The First-Responder Sensor: Why Your Body is Your Most Localized Air Quality Tool

  • Introduction: Air quality apps and sensors have transformed how we monitor pollution — but they work best when paired with something you already carry: your own biology. A monitoring station kilometres away gives you valuable trend data, but your body is streaming something different — a live, hyper-local read of the air hitting your face right now.

    Your eyes sting at a particular junction every morning. The skyline loses its crispness before you’ve checked your phone. A metallic taste appears at the back of your throat on a hot afternoon. These aren’t random discomforts — they are signals, and learning to read them is the point of this piece.

    What follows maps six everyday biological responses to the specific pollutants behind them, explains the science in plain language, and shows you what to do when each signal appears. Not to replace your digital tools — but to help you use both together.

  • Read the full blog post: Link

Project 24: The Human Ledger: 13 Ways the Air is Currently Deleting the Moments That Make You Human

  • Introduction: Air pollution is often discussed in the abstract—parts per million or atmospheric chemistry. It is typically treated as an environmental problem when, in reality, it is a biological heist. Every day spent breathing toxic air, a specific portion of vitality and the future is being liquidated.

    This isn’t just about “getting sick.” It is about the systemic erosion of the moments that make a life worth living — from the first breath to the last. I am introducing a suite of Human-Centric Metrics that translate air quality data into the actual units of human life: time, capacity, and development. By moving beyond chemical concentrations, we can finally quantify the silent theft of our most precious resource.

  • Read the full blog post: Link

Project 23: biteSizedVisual #5: 27 years of PM₂.₅ compliance across Indian states — and how the standard you choose changes the story

  • Read the full blog here: Link

  • The underlying data that powers the visualizations in this blog were processed and shared in biteSizedAQ - Project 22. Here is a link to that project.

  • Link to high res plots and animations: Link. Please feel free to share. But, if you do just link back and give credit to this original source (see License and Reuse section in the blog).

Project 22: Block level Satellite derived population weighted Monthly PM2.5 dataset for India from 1998-2024

  • Read the blog post on this link.

  • Specifically explore the Northern Plains of India data in this interactive data explorer.

  • Download long and wide version of the processed monthly population weighted average pm2.5 India block level data from this link.

  • Data Dictionary for both long and wide version of the dataset can be found in 2 separated tabs of this Google Sheet.

  • High resolution snapshots for all years, similar to the ones shown in the blog post can be found in this folder of the repo. Feel free to share this further for outreach or awareness purposes.

  • Data Processing pipeline Rmd file for this project can be found at the root of the biteSizedAQ repo. Here is a quick link to access the pipeline.

  • Animations of pollution race charts and other experimental resources: state wise, geographical region wise and airshed wise: Link to Folder

  • Subdistrict Level Monthly Compliance from 1998 to 2024 Plot: Link to Folder.

Project 21: 💔 The Air is Burning Our Futures: Why Our Fight for Clean Air is Drowning in Silence

Project 20: The Often Overlooked Air Pollutant: Understanding Pollen and Its Impact

Project 19: How to Unlock Earth’s Climate and Pollution Diary: From Million Year Old Sediment Cores to Modern Tree Rings

Project 18: biteSizedVisual #4: Air Quality Standards National Coverage for Criterial Pollutants Across the World

  • Read the full blog post here and read about the stories of all those who applied and also find about the winners of the give away: Link to Blog

  • Link to raw WHO/Swiss TPH compiled national air quality standards database: Link. Source: Link.

  • Data Processing and Visualization pipeline Rmd file for this project is present at the root of the biteSizedAQ repo. Here is a quick link to access the pipeline.

  • Link to high res final plot for sharing: Link

Project 17: 🎉 biteSizedAQ x AirGradient Monitors Giveaway Results!

  • Read the full blog post here and read about the stories of all those who applied and also find about the winners of the give away: Link to Blog

  • Thank you everyone who applied!

Project 16: 🎉 biteSizedAQ Turns One! Celebrating with AirGradient Monitors Giveaway + New Logo Reveal

  • Read the full blog post here and checkout biteSizedAQ’s new logo: Link to Blog

  • Fill in the Survey for a chance to win an outdoor AirGradient AQ monitor: Link to Survey

    • Deadline: June 22 (Sunday), 11:59 pm IST (Indian Standard Time, GMT+5:30)

    • Winners will be announced soon after the deadline

Project 15: Block level Satellite derived population weighted Monthly PM2.5 dataset for India from 1998-2023

  • Read the blog post on this link.

  • Download processed data from this link.

  • Data Dictionary for both long and wide version of the dataset can be found in 2 separated tabs of this Google Sheet.

  • High resolution snapshots for all years, similar to the ones shown in the blog post can be found in this folder of the repo. Feel free to share this further for outreach or awareness purposes.

  • Data Processing pipeline Rmd file for this project: Also, present at the root of the biteSizedAQ repo. Here is a quick link to access the pipeline.

Project 14: Local Government Unit level Satellite derived population weighted PM2.5 dataset for Nepal from 1998-2023

  • Read the blog post on this link.

  • Download processed data from this link.

  • Data Processing pipeline Rmd file for this project: Also, present at the root of the biteSizedAQ repo. Here is a quick link to access the pipeline.

Project 13: Block level satellite derived population weighted PM2.5 dataset for India from 1998-2023

  • Read the blog post on this link.

  • Download processed data from this link.

  • Data Processing pipeline Rmd file for this project: Also, present at the root of the biteSizedAQ repo. Here is a quick link to access the pipeline.

  • Read the blog here.

  • Rmd for the blog can be found in the project’s respective folder number. Here is a quick link to access it.

Project 11: Different Approaches, Consistent Findings: How Researchers Measure Air Pollution’s Toll on Life

  • Read the blog here.

  • Rmd for the blog can be found in the project’s respective folder number. Here is a quick link to access it.

Project 10: biteSizedVisual #3 - Air Quality Data Deficit: 45% of Nations Either Don’t Monitor or Monitor but Don’t Share Any Data

  • See the Visual and blog here.

  • Underlying README Rmd file with R code used to generate the visual can be found here.

  • Rmd for the blog can be found in the project’s respective folder number. Here is a quick link to access it.

  • Final processed data used to generate the visual: Link. This is the same as the 2024 Open AQ Global Landscape Report Worksheet with countries and their tags, with an added data_sharing_status column for plotting purposes.

  • Data Dictionary: Link

  • High resolution PNG file for the Visual for quick sharing: Link

Project 9: biteSizedVisual #2 - India’s PM2.5 Pollution: A 25 year Story of Crisis and Contrast

  • See the Visual and blog here.

  • Underlying README Rmd file with R code used to generate the visual can be found here.

  • Rmd for the blog can be found in the project’s respective folder number. Here is a quick link to access it.

  • Final processed data used to generate the visual: Link

  • Data Dictionary: Link

  • High resolution PNG file for the Visual for quick sharing: Link

Project 8: biteSizedAQ is excited to present a virtual poster at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2024 Meeting!

  • Read all details about the presentation, how to attend and more here.

  • View the Interactive Poster in AGU 2024 i poster gallery here.

Project 7: Introducing biteSizedVisuals Series: Tackling Air Pollution One Plot at a Time!

biteSizedVisual #1: When the Air Chokes: Can India Break Free from Pollution’s Grip?

  • See the Visual and blog here.

  • Underlying README Rmd file with R code used to generate the visual can be found here.

  • Rmd for the blog can be found in the project’s respective folder number. Here is a quick link to access it.

  • Final processed data used to generate the visual: Link

  • Data Dictionary: Link

  • PNG file for the Visual for quick sharing: Link

Project 6: Computing with Conscience: Evolving from Carbon Aware to Grid Aware for Truly Sustainable Computing

  • Read the blog here.

  • Underlying README Rmd file can be found in the project’s respective folder number and here is a quick link to access it.

Project 5: Facing Two Fronts: The Intersection of Air Pollution and Climate Change

Project 4: Monitoring Air Quality: The Power of Satellite Based Remote Sensing

Project 3: Air Quality Data Management Systems Landscape: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities

Project 2: Deciphering Air Pollution Units: Essential Insights for Informed Action

Project 1: Block level satellite derived population weighted air pollution dataset for India from 1998-2022

  • Read more about this project and download processed data from here. This folder is present at the root of the repo.

  • Data Processing pipeline Rmd file for this project: Also, present at the root of the biteSizedAQ repo. Here is a quick link to access the pipeline.