The air up there: A floating indicator of urban air quality in Paris

Poor air quality in the city is an issue that often goes unnoticed because of its usually invisible symptoms. However, Airparif in Paris has developed a more visible means to indicate the city’s current air-quality levels.

The Ballon Air de Paris, a giant helium-filled balloon that changes colour in accordance with air quality data recorded from various locations across the city, allows Parisian residents to note the state of their air environment simply by looking upwards. Rising from Parc André-Citroën, the balloon, which will hopefully stay green for the sake of Parisian lungs, can be seen from a radius of 20km – equating to around 400,000 people every day. In addition to keeping the city’s residents aware of pollution levels, the project also features an emission-free balloon ride for panoramic views of the city. With increasing amounts of attention given to city pollution and the environment, urban dwellers are becoming more aware and concerned with their surroundings, and need informative and intuitive indicators as a result.