Google Maps is not just all about looking for potential locations such as restaurants, parking lots, airports, and other establishments around your area.
The navigation app can now also monitor the air quality within a particular place. The new feature will arrive on iOS and Android platforms in the United States.
Google Maps Air Quality Layer
Although many areas have a lot of tourist spots to visit, some people are unaware that there's an extreme level of pollution in the vicinity.
People must only breathe fresh air, but they cannot know if the air is safe or not without using a proper tool to monitor its quality.
Now, checking the quality of the air around your place is now a few clicks away from your smartphone. According to XDA Developers, the users can now access the air quality index through Google Maps (AQI) to create better decisions when going outside.
The newly-added feature on Google Maps can help you decide how long you would stay outdoors. When you look at the Air Quality Index, you can discover more information and data within a certain geographic location.
Zooming out will hand you a closer look for AQI across an area. If you want to be more specific about the local spots, you can zoom in further.
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How to Add Air Quality Layer to Your Map
As per GSM Arena, you can add the air quality layer on the map by simply clicking the button that you will see on the top right portion of your screen.
After that, you can start tapping Air Quality. You can see it just under the Map details. If you are using smart home speakers such as Nest, you can also access the PurpleAir data.
The small bubbles represent the air quality monitoring stations. You can take a peek at the air quality score of an area to evaluate if the air is healthy to breathe or not.
You can also use Google Maps to detect wildfires in the areas. Recently, Google collaborated with the National Interagency Fire Center NIFC to make this happen.
To begin using this feature, just type "wildfires near me," and the information will now appear on display. You can also see the data regarding the air quality of the affected location.
Additionally, Google Search is expected to roll out smoke data in the region. The information will come from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
Apple also has a similar feature that Google Maps recently brought to the users. Per Tech Times, the iOS 14.7 has added the "air quality" feature expansion. It's currently available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
