A real concern for many around the world these days is, what’s the air quality like and is it safe to go outside?

There’s now a widget from the app-maker Karbon called Breathable, which is an air quality index (AQI) widget for iOS, iPadOS and macOS. 

You can now quickly check out what air quality is like where you are. You know that I live in Southern California and in recent years have written about wildfires near my home, sometimes close enough that my neighborhood is given evacuation orders. The fires were close enough that you can just see that the air quality is really bad, but there are other times, like regular days when the smog is bad, that you can’t tell how safe it is. So a widget like Breathable comes in handy. I walk around the neighborhood daily, so it’s really helpful to know what the air quality is actually like outside. 

Breathable uses AQI data from two services, which both offer free accounts and API access for personal use. Breathable uses the United States AQI for all values world-wide. It can use your device’s current location or you can select a location to find the AQI, and your location is only used to request AQI data and is not shared with Karbon or any other third-parties.

The widget is only $1.99, and a portion of proceeds will be donated to one of several climate change foundations such as Clean Air Task Force, Climate Change Emergency Fund, and Union of Concerned Scientists. Air quality is a daily concern here in California theses days and this is best widget I could find to keep me updated.