Founded less than a year ago, Allin-Wayra meaning “good air” or “winds of change” in Quechua (a pre-colonial South American native tongue) aims to create a diverse and inclusive global small sensor community that focuses on regions with limited air quality data by collaborating on projects that address critical issues, enhance capacity, and promote accessibility. Dr. Erika von Schneidemesser and Dr. Sebastian Diez are co-chairs of Allin-Wayra.
All efforts are focused on pushing for regional and global efforts to generate the technical and scientific capabilities to interpret and apply these data in public policies. Air quality is just the tip of the iceberg. By developing capacities to understand it, they aim to not only address immediate problems, but also lay the foundation for better understanding in other areas of knowledge related to ecosystem and global health.
Country Profile (Chile): Opportunity Score 5.8: Annual average PM2.5 levels are more than 3.5 times the WHO guideline. There is public PM2.5 data produced by the government, as well as there is a national ambient air quality standard for PM2.5.