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West Oakland

• Summer 2019 (July to Sept)

• Fall 2019 (Oct to Dec)

Block by Block & Current Air Quality

Interactive Air Quality Report

We all take about 20,000 breaths a day and the quality of the air we breathe affects our health. That’s why it’s important to understand what’s in our air, in the places where we spend our time. This report features two measures of air quality: block-by-block and current air quality.

Drivers who helped collect data for West Oakland

Block by Block Air Quality


• Your address can affect your health because air pollution can be 800% higher from one block to the next.

• We measure air pollution block by block repeatedly over months with sensor-equipped vehicles to map air quality, and combine dozens of measurements to calculate average pollution level at any address.

• For the Block by Block Air Quality section of this report, Aclima deployed a fleet of vehicles driven by local community members from July 1 to December 31, 2019, measuring fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), as part of an ongoing Bay Area-wide program.

Learn more about Aclima’s unique process and the science behind it.


Current Air Quality


• Air quality changes throughout the day based on things like weather, traffic patterns, and emergency events like fires -- and your exposure to outdoor air pollution changes with it.

• In West Oakland in partnership with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and Rising Sun Center for Opportunity, we ran a network of seven stationary devices placed across the community. All of the data went into the Aclima platform to be displayed in this report.

• Each device measured PM2.5, O3, and NO2 and is maintained so that it collects quality data. Stationary devices tell us the current air quality at the locations where they are installed.

Notable Locations

    1)

    Marcus Garvey Commons

  • High NO₂
  • Near freeway and truck corridor
    2)

    Peralta near Mandela Pkwy

  • High NO₂ and PM 2.5
  • Significant industrial activity
    3)

    West Oakland Health Council

  • High NO₂ and PM 2.5
  • On Main thoroughfare

Block by Block Air Quality

We measured air quality on this block multiple times throughout the three 3-month mapping campaign from July 1st, 2019 to September 30th, 2019, and again from October 1st, 2019 to December 31st, 2019. Select the pollutant you’d like to see in the drop-down menu.

The report provides average pollutant levels for a given location over the time we measured. Learn more about our methodology.

West Oakland BART Station

Average PM 2.5: 11.2 µg/m³

Summer 2019 (July to Sept)

PM 2.5 in Detail

Fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, is often used to assess air quality because it is linked to asthma, lung cancer, and deaths from lung and heart diseases.


The average PM 2.5 at this location in the Summer (July - September 2019) was 11.2µg/m³ (micrograms per cubic meter), which is near the EPA and WHO annual mean health standards.

West Oakland BART Station

PM 2.5

4.45

11.2

WHO

EPA

20

11.2µg/m³ is lower than 74% of the measured area during the time period.

Above the WHO annual Air Quality Guideline Values (10µg/m³).

Slightly below the EPA annual National Ambient Air Quality Standards (12µg/m³).

Other Pollutants

We also measured ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Nearby Places

Samm/Dalton/Cooper Mansion

10.7

0.1mi

Bottom’s Up Community Garden

12.5

0.1mi

South Prescott Park

12.9

0.2mi

Changes over time

A) Summer 2019 (July - September)

B) Fall 2019 (October - December)

PollutantAB
PM 2.5 (µg/m³)PM₂.₅ (µg/m³)11.2
8.8
Ozone (ppb)O₃ (ppb)21.1
11.4
Nitric Oxide (ppb)NO (ppb)< 10
< 10
Nitrogen Dioxide (ppb)NO2 (ppb)15.5
11.8
Carbon Monoxide (ppm)CO (ppm)0.4
0.4
Carbon Dioxide (ppm)CO₂ (ppm)416.5
455.3

Current Air Quality (inactive)

To complement our block-by-block measurements, Aclima deployed a network of stationary air quality monitors between February, 2020 and June, 2022 across West Oakland. Data from these devices were made available in real-time at one-minute time intervals during the collection period and will be archived through the California Air Resources Board’s AQview Continuous Monitoring Download Tool.

Please contact communities@aclima.io with any questions.

Share this report

What you can do

Whether you only have a few seconds or you want to devote more time to reducing air pollution, we’re building a library of actions you can take. Got a great idea you want to share? Let us know!

Three things you can do right now:
  1. Protect your health by doing your best to limit your time in higher-polluted areas identified on the hyperlocal air quality map and get the nearest stationary measurements for real-time updates.
  2. Make plans to join the next Community Air Protection Program monthly Steering Committee meeting or email WestOaklandPlan@baaqmd.gov to get involved.
  3. Share this site with your neighbors, family, and friends in the community.
Three things you can do this week:
  1. If you see something that you think is causing more pollution than it should, submit a complaint to your Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
  2. Sign up and get more involved in local issues through groups like the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and Rising Sun Center for Opportunity.
  3. Follow and share your ideas on the Air District’s Open Air Forum.
Three things you can do long-term:
  1. Let your local government know that clean air matters to you. Any member of the public can participate during the regularly scheduled public board of supervisors meetings.
  2. Learn more about air pollution with this free air quality course.
  3. Tell us how we can make this app better and easier to use!
Not seeing your address?

Aclima is expanding hyperlocal air quality mapping for communities everywhere. If you want to request that we start mapping in your community, please share your zip code below.