Citing the inadequate weather data collection, an international partnership is testing the world’s first air quality ledger and trying to stem a global crisis.

Air quality as public health crisis

PlanetWatch announced earlier today the battle-testing of air quality monitors linked to technology company Algorand’s blockchain.

“It is currently operating in several Italian cities (fixed installations and mobile ones on trolleys and buses), plus a long-term installation test in the Arctic,” Algorand’s Keli Callaghan told Cointelegraph.

According to a PlanetWatch post on Jan. 23, the current state of air monitoring is unresponsive to today’s needs. Large government stations occur are available in cities and transport hubs. Data might not be released for a whole day. Yet poor air quality poses dire health issues, especially for children — infant mortality, asthma, neurodevelopmental disorders, and childhood cancers, according to PlanetWatch.

Looking ahead

The goal for the partnership is “a global network of air quality sensors and environmentally-conscious people.” The sensors can be installed in private homes or even carried on one’s person, which allows data to be uploaded in real time.

“The sensors have been thoroughly tested and the data is publically available,” PlanetWatch founder Claudio Parrinello, a former research scientist, told Cointelegraph.

The sensors collect data using Boston-based Algorand’s blockchain, “creating the first global, open, immutable $225 historical air quality repository.” The validated data will then be transcribed onto the blockchain. This database will then be readable to all users. Sensor owners will receive PLANET tokens in exchange for collecting data.

PlanetWatch is reportedly in talks with institutional investors about where the token will function. “Ultimately,” Parrinello said, “streaming air quality data to PlanetWatch will be the main mechanism to get PLANET tokens. Sensing is mining!”

The big question, of course, is whether there will be much interest.

“We’ve been getting a lot of interest already,” Parrinello said. “We might be taking pre-orders.”