Smartphone app gives Houston-area residents up-to-date smog data

HOUSTON – Houston residents now can have in their pocket the answer to whether ozone levels in the city are too high for their asthmatic child to play soccer.

A new app available for iPhones and Android smartphones collects data from 74 air and wind monitors throughout the Houston area, giving residents nearly real-time data on smog.

The app was developed by the Houston Air Alliance, the University of Houston and the American Lung Association.

Houston has some of the highest ozone levels in the country.

Scientists and doctors say air pollution exacerbates asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Interim Air Alliance director Larry Soward says the Houston Ozone Map app is unique because the data is minutes old. Most other similar apps use data that is more than an hour old.

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