How you can use Google Maps to track wildfires and air quality
Climate change has brought an increasing number of wildfires and air quality problems. In the US, the West Coast has seen more than its fair share of fires over the past several years. Here on the East Coast, we were affected by wildfires in Canada last year, creating a haze across the skies and warnings to stay indoors as much as possible. Such environmental hazards have hit many regions around the world.
“During one week in July, according to reports, firefighters fought through the night as wildfires blazed on the Greek islands of Kos, Chios and Crete,” Google said in a recent blog post. “Authorities in the Spanish community of Extremadura activated 60 personnel to control a forest fire — one of 18 threatening the region. One wildfire, according to reports, in the Paphos region of Cyprus, was caused by light refracted through broken glass. According to estimates, territory that is fire-prone in Europe has doubled in the last 50 years.”
To help people avoid these hazards, Google has been offering wildfire tracking in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. This week, the company added 15 more countries to the list, including Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Monaco, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Türkiye, Google noted in its blog post.
Also: How AI is saving homes and lives in California during wildfire season
Google’s wildfire tracking relies on multiple sources, such as data from satellite imagery. The company also uses AI to compare its wildfire model with its own model of fire scars (the black scarring left over after a fire has burned through all the vegetation). Other AI models verify the presence of wildfires to more precisely measure their size.
To report on air quality in a given area, Google turns to an Air Quality Index in the US and other countries. This measures common pollutants in the air, such as nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. The index typically averages the readings for a defined period of time, anywhere from one to 24 hours.
To help you stay on top of wildfires and air quality issues, Google Maps offers a way to track these occurrences. Using the Maps app, you can search any area in the world and get details on the nature and scope of each incident.
Here’s how this works.
Scan for wildfires
You can track wildfires through the Google Maps website or the mobile app for iOS/iPadOS or Android. Browse to the website or open the app. Move the map to the area that you want to scan.
To view any wildfires in the area, tap or click the Layers icon (in the mobile app, it’s the icon with overlapping squares). On the website, click More and then select the icon for Wildfires. In the mobile app, tap the Wildfires icon.
The website displays icons for each wildfire discovered in the area. The mobile app does the same, but also displays a list of the fires.
Tap or click on a specific wildfire to see more information about it. Google Maps typically describes the level of smoke from the fire (light, medium, or heavy) and includes links to websites, news stories, and social media posts to help you learn more about that particular fire.
Scan for air quality reports
As with wildfire tracking, you search for air quality information through the Google Maps website or the mobile app for iOS/iPadOS or Android. Browse to the website or open the app. Move the map to the area that you want to scan.
To check the air quality in the area, tap or click the Layers icon. On the website, click More and then select the icon for Air quality. In the mobile app, tap the Air quality icon.
Both the mobile app and the website display a bar graph with numbers and colors to denote the levels of air quality. Running from 0 to 500, the higher the number, the worse the air quality. The colors start with green for a good air quality, then yellow, orange, red, and purple for increasingly poor quality, and end with maroon for hazardous quality.
To get information and advice on a specific area, click or tap it. The map should display an exact number for that area along with a warning about whether the air quality is healthy or unhealthy and for whom.
