Pioneer Valley Healthy Air Network

“The Pioneer Valley Healthy Air Network was established by the City of Springfield, the City of Holyoke, the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, LiveWell Springfield, ReGreen Springfield, the Earthwatch Institute, and the Yale School of Public Health. Funding for the network was provided by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office’s Environmental Protection Division and the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Program.”

“Springfield, Chicopee, and Holyoke in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts have a long history of high asthma rates. Until recently, the region was the #1 Asthma Capital in the US to live with asthma, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The Springfield Healthy Homes Asthma program and other community health worker asthma interventions in the region are helping to improve asthma outcomes is having an impact. Better air quality can also help asthma and other diseases. Air pollution in the area is measured by two State monitors – one in Springfield and another in Chicopee. As air pollution can change across the day and varies from one location to the next, more monitors are needed.

This network of over 50 air monitors throughout Springfield, Chicopee, and Holyoke was made possible through a partnership with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office’s Environmental Protection Division, which provided funding for the project as part of its long-running mission to promote healthy air for all residents of the Commonwealth.  Over the past years, the Attorney General has successfully fought to reduce the amount of harmful ozone, particulate matter, and other dangerous air pollutants that drift into the Commonwealth from polluting sources—like power plants, factories, and motor vehicles—in upwind States.  Although there has been great progress in improving Massachusetts’ air quality, there is more to be done.”

Please visit: https://pvhealthyair.org/ to view the live air quality dashboard provided by the Pioneer Valley Healthy Air Network and to learn about all of our partners in this organization.

The following image is an example from the Pollitt Lab’s website on 2-7-22 of how live conditions are displayed, the link above will provide up to date information.