#02 Stop! Smog

The project was initiated by the Marshal's Office of the Silesian Voivodeship, the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze and the Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas in Katowice. The combination of expertise in three areas: environment, medicine and IT has allowed to develop an innovative forecasting system Silesian SMOGSTOP. It is available as an electronic platform and mobile app. The innovation of the system is the possibility of generating reports on hazards and at the same time health recommendations, linked to the state of air quality in relation to gender, age and health. Users can generate reports not only for themselves but also for others (family members, children or elderly). Messages can be generated in the forecasting system for up to 48 hours. The system also allows you to adequately prepare for a possible emergency. In addition, it helps medical facilities prepare to admit more patients during periods of exceeded air quality standards.

The system is innovative because of its combined functionality, but also meteorological situation prediction and analysis of pollution concentration data, which were earlier of very poor quality. It is a realworld forecasting system. The system uses an emission model for low sources (buildings). The emissions calculated by the model are related to a specific area covered by residential development and not, as in other forecasting systems, to an average emission per square kilometer of the city/municipality area.

Silesian SMOGSTOP system significantly raises awareness of the region's inhabitants on air quality issues. In combination with other educational and informational activities undertaken by the Silesia Voivodeship, it improves pro-ecological behavior of inhabitants and thus, in a longer perspective, the improvement of air quality.

The Silesian SMOGSTOP system was one of the winners of the competition "Safe Hospital of the Future - INSPIRATIONS 2020", taking the first place in the category "Innovative solutions, products and services improving the quality of life, health, access to services - devices, technologies, telemedicine, applications, start-up solutions". In this way, its social value and the hard work of all the InfoSMOGMED project Partners was recognized.

For seven years I have been actively involved in the "Cidry Lotajom" Association, which was founded by a group of runners and Nordic walking enthusiasts. We meet several times a week to run, walk with the poles, and bike together. Most often we go to Księża Góra in Radzionków. We do that all year round. As soon as the heating season starts, there is the issue of smog, which complicates our sports plans. With high levels of pollution, it is difficult to even think about any sporting activity. Although I must admit that the air quality is very slowly starting to improve. The level of citizens' awareness is growing, many programs aimed at reducing low emissions are being implemented in the region and, what is equally important, fewer and fewer people are burning plastic or other poisonous garbage in their stoves. More and more data communication tools are also being developed to track air pollution levels at a given location.

For me and my friends the platform with the mobile application Silesian SMOGSTOP turned out to be a useful tool. I installed it on my phone and tablet. On the map, I mark the area I want to check for air pollution, down to the street and even the building. The app also has many useful features.

For example, it allows you to generate a prognosis of health risks for people struggling with pulmonary, cardiovascular, diabetes, or in the case of children, pediatric conditions. I can also check the air quality by "bike paths" or "walking paths". This allows me to schedule outdoor activities in areas where pollution levels are lowest.

I think the app is a useful tool for residents who pay attention to preventive health care and practice various outdoor activities. Those who use it can also see positive changes in the region's air quality.