Air pollution is a global health emergency, yet there is little data or awareness about this silent killer. Abid Omar presents the case for Pakistan, where his citizen's initiative shows how open data can change national discourse, and drive the way for a better and healthier environment.
He is the founder of the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI پاکی), a community-driven initiative to set up low-cost, real-time sensors to monitor air quality in the urban areas of Pakistan, and thereby increase social awareness.
Abid Omar sees the air pollution emergency in Pakistan as a silver lining - an opportunity to drive environmental awareness and change that will clean up Pakistan for good. He founded the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative in 2016 to engage the community in key cities of Pakistan to collect and share data using a network of real-time air quality sensors. This data has immense potential to impact environmental change. He has trained as an Engineer, and currently works as an entrepreneur by day in the fashion and textile industry. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx