Global weather and digital media firm AccuWeather has entered an exclusive partnership with Plume Labs, whose mission is to make air quality information more accessible to people. The tie-up will see localised air quality information rolled into Accuweather weather forecasts for every location around the world, delivered via web, mobile web and the AccuWeather app. AccuWeathers has also taken a stake in Plume Labs.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 4.2m premature deaths globally are linked to ambient air pollution. Specifically, the WHO attributes worldwide ambient air pollution as the cause of 29 per cent of all deaths and disease from lung cancer; 17 per cent of all deaths and disease from acute lower respiratory infection; 24 per cent of all deaths from stroke; 25 per cent of all deaths and disease from coronary heart disease; and 43 per cent of all deaths and disease from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Plume Labs is an environmental tech company whose aim is to make air pollution information accessible and empowering. The company is best known for having brought to market the personal air pollution sensor, Flow, which helps consumers track, understand, and take action to decrease their exposure to air pollution. By gathering data from the most comprehensive sources of air pollution information around the world, Plume Labs builds accurate, granular, global maps and forecasts of air quality levels.

“Air pollution shortens millions of lives every year, but consumers largely lack the information they need to protect themselves,” says Romain Lacombe, Plume Labs founder and CEO. “We created Plume Labs to make information on what we breathe accessible to everyone, by using the most innovative predictive technologies to forecast air quality. Weve found a kindred spirit in the AccuWeather teams steadfast focus on delivering the very best forecast accuracy to their customers. This exciting partnership is a recognition of our industry-leading air quality data platform, and of the rising importance of real-time, personalized environmental information for consumers worldwide.”