- iPhone App and www.obsairve.eu web portal for European air quality.
- Simple color scheme helps asthmatics and other sufferers of chronic illnesses.
- Air quality forecasts based on 6,000 monitoring stations plus satellite data.
A new service for citizens, companies and public authorities in Europe with up-to-date information about air quality is launching at the start of this year's CeBIT. Particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and smog in general impair the quality of life, especially in urban agglomerations: for asthmatics and other sufferers of chronic illnesses, in particular, easy-to-understand information on air quality is crucial to planning their everyday activities. Emergency services in major cities can also benefit from these forecasts for their shift planning, for example, when high ozone values are impending. In such cases, the service would also be helpful for major hospitals, for instance, to initiate emergency contingency plans. Like weather forecasts, obsAIRve will provide information on the current concentration of pollutants throughout Europe, plus predictions for the coming days. The air quality is rated with a simple color scale, from "very low" to "very high" pollution levels. The displayed values correspond to the Common Air Quality Index (CAQI), which is calculated from the values measured for ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. The "obsAIRve" app is available for free at the Apple App Store. An app for Android devices is slated for release later this year. The "obsAIRve" service, run on behalf of the European Commission, is part of the European earth monitoring program "Global Monitoring for Environment and Security" (GMES). It is a joint project by GAF AG, T-Systems, the Austrian Federal Environment Agency and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). www.obsairve.eu displays airborne pollutants in Europe. When a city or postal code is entered, the current and predicted pollution level can be calculated. The solution processes forecasts in real time based on data collected hourly from around 6,000 ambient air quality monitors and earth observation satellites. Figures from around 500 air quality monitors are included from Germany alone. Ideas competition The obsAIRve consortium is launching an ideas competition to spread the word about this pan-European air quality service. The winners will be announced by the end of 2012. Participants are invited to submit communication concepts, for example, for promoting the topic of air quality among the general public. CeBIT event A podium discussion for the obsAIRve project will take place at CeBIT at 10 a.m. on March 9, 2012, in hall 11. Event participants include: Dr. Matthias Baron, GAF AG, presentation Prof. Dr. Bittner, German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Earth Observation Center Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, European Environment Agency (EEA) Dr. Reinhard Schulte-Braucks, European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry Jerome Clave, Airparif, Ile-de-France Dr. Ignacio Campino, Deutsche Telekom AG For more information about this topic, visit www.ec.europa.eu/gmes and www.gmes-atmosphere.eu .
Experience our products and services live at CeBIT from March 6 - 10 at the Deutsche Telekom stand in hall 4, stand D26. Deutsche Telekom's entire presence at the trade fair is carbon-neutral: All CO2 emissions generated in setting up and operating the stand are offset fully by carbon-reduction projects abro ad.
About Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies with over 128 million mobile customers, around 35 million fixed-network lines and nearly 17 million broadband lines (as of September 30, 2011). The Group provides fixed-network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers, and ICT solutions for business and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in around 50 countries and has approximately 238,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 62.4 billion in the 2010 financial year - more than half of it outside Germany (as of December 31, 2010).