Indiana Residents Gain Local Real-Time Air Data

If you live in southwestern Indiana, new monitors now show real-time particulate pollution readings in your area.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Asthma

Photograph of a plain white outdoor air monitor on a steel post at the edge of a flat Midwestern field, with bare trees and hazy horizon behind it. — Southwestern Indiana residents can now track real-time particulate pollution in their own neighborhoods through 20 monitors deployed by the group SWICQL. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Do you trust official government monitoring of air and water quality where you live?

Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life, a regional environmental health advocacy group founded in 2018, received a $75,000 grant to help residents monitor local environmental health risks. The group deployed 20 PurpleAir Flex air quality monitors across southwestern Indiana, giving residents a way to track pollution in their own communities.

Why it matters

Official government monitoring stations do not cover every neighborhood, and SWICQL deployed its monitors to fill those gaps in the Indiana communities it serves. Residents who manage asthma or other respiratory conditions can use local, real-time particulate data to understand when air quality may be poor in their area.

The monitoring effort is a deployment of 20 real-time particulate matter sensors rather than a controlled study, so it describes exposure monitoring capacity rather than measured health outcomes. The group has also run 40 private well water tests and six regional focus groups, but the source does not report aggregate results from either.

The players

Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life (SWICQL)

A regional environmental health advocacy group founded in 2018 that runs air and water monitoring for communities in southwestern Indiana.

Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute

An Indiana University research institute whose Indiana Resilience Funding Hub partnered with SWICQL on this effort.

Great Lakes Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program

A grantmaking program that funded SWICQL's $75,000 award to support local environmental health monitoring.

The details

The PurpleAir Flex monitors measure real-time particulate matter, the fine airborne particles produced by sources such as regional coal-fired plants and wildfires, and display those readings on SWICQL's newly launched website. Focus groups led by Indiana University researchers Kate Eddens and Annie Shattuck were held across the region, and their findings were presented publicly in Dale, Indiana, in April 2026. Grant funds also supported development of the group's new digital website.

Between 2025 and 2026, SWICQL hosted six regional focus groups.
In April 2026, focus group findings were presented publicly in Dale, Indiana.
SWICQL's website and coverage of its grant were published on November 4, 2026.

Health Landscape

Community-operated PurpleAir Flex sensor networks are one way local groups fill gaps left by fixed official monitors, which are spaced far apart and cannot capture neighborhood-level variation. This Indiana deployment adds to that approach by pairing real-time particulate readings with focus group research on how residents experience local environmental risks.

If you live in southwestern Indiana and have asthma or another respiratory condition, the new public particulate data may help you notice when air quality is poor in your area. It is worth discussing with your doctor how to use local air quality information in managing your symptoms.

The takeaway

Local air monitoring can reveal pollution patterns that official stations miss, which is useful information for anyone managing asthma. Check whether your community has accessible real-time air quality data, and bring questions about air quality and your symptoms to your physician.