Bard Community Sciences Lab Manager Desiree Lyle installs an air quality monitor for the Poughkeepsie Regional Air Quality Station at Adriance Memorial Library (photo by Julia Beeman).
A new online platform developed by Bard College aims to give Hudson Valley residents real-time access to localized air quality data, using monitors stationed in communities including Red Hook.
The tool is a collaboration between Bard’s Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities (CESH) and JustAir, an environmental justice technology company. The system collects and publishes live, validated air quality readings through a mobile-friendly interface that allows users to monitor pollution levels near their homes.
“Knowledge is power, and access to real-time air quality data gives people the tools they need to protect their health and the health of their families,” said Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger. “This new platform empowers Hudson Valley residents to make informed decisions about their daily activities, whether it’s choosing when to exercise outdoors or taking precautions on high-pollution days.”
The Red Hook-based air quality monitor is located at Bard’s Stevenson Library and is one of four regional air quality stations feeding data into the platform. Other monitors are located in Kingston, Poughkeepsie, and Newburgh.
Users can subscribe to updates from a chosen monitor and receive alerts when air pollution reaches levels considered unhealthy, along with recommendations for reducing personal exposure and limiting local pollution sources, such as wood-burning and vehicle emissions.
Eli Dueker, Quincy Ross, and Desiree Lyle install a Purple Air at the Red Hook Library (photo by Julia Beeman).
Bard’s Community Sciences Lab, which is based in Red Hook, has been developing a regional air quality monitoring network since 2020. That network—called the Hudson Valley Community Air Network (HVCAN)—currently includes 45 street-level sensors that provide hyperlocal data from Albany to Newburgh. Bard plans to integrate these sensors into the new JustAir platform in the coming months.
Air quality monitoring has traditionally been sparse in rural areas like the Hudson Valley, with public data often coming from distant stations that may not reflect local conditions. The Bard-JustAir initiative is designed to address that gap by grounding monitoring in the specific locations where residents live and work.
The sensors installed by Bard use technology from PurpleAir and QuantAQ to measure concentrations of particulate matter. Weather data, including wind speed and direction, rainfall, and temperature, is also collected to help contextualize air quality conditions.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a standardized and color-coded system developed by the Environmental Protection Agency to measure and communicate the quality of the air.
According to project leaders, the system is intended not only to inform individuals but also to support community science, municipal planning, and public health responses.
Public launch events for the platform are scheduled this month in Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, and Kingston. No Red Hook event has yet been announced, though local data is already live.
Since its inception, the Bard Community Sciences Lab has partnered with municipal governments, libraries, schools, and nonprofit groups across the region. Local partners include the Town of Red Hook, the City of Kingston, Ulster County, Mount Saint Mary College, and the Adriance Memorial Library.
The Hudson Valley platform builds on earlier projects such as the Kingston Air Quality Initiative, which released a four-year study on air conditions in that city in 2023.
More information and real-time data are available through the JustAir app and the Bard Community Sciences Lab website.
The post Bard Launches Air Quality Monitoring Platform for Hudson Valley with Hyperlocal Real-Time Reports first appeared on The Daily Catch.