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“Air quality lights shine on the Bastille”
How clean is the air we breathe in Grenoble? Residents of the city can now turn to the Bastille and the cable car pylon to check air quality forecasts for the following day.
From the 10th of February 2023, from 7pm to 11pm or midnight, the pylon will be lit up with one of the six colours of the Atmo scale (blue, green, yellow, red, purple, and magenta) to inform residents of the predicted air quality in the city for the following day (from “good” to “extremely poor”). The Atmo scale is determined by the government in consultation with official air quality monitoring bodies, and is regulated by ministerial decree.
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Every day, regional air-monitoring body Atmo Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes calculates pollution levels on the Atmo scale across the entire region and determines the outside air quality for each commune. This calculation is based on the concentration of five major pollutants: fine particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulphur dioxide (SO2).
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What is the aim of this initiative?
Atmo Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, the City of Grenoble, and the public company that runs the Bastille cable car in Grenoble have come together to create a permanent installation putting air quality information on display for the public. The goal of this project is to improve access to information and to encourage behavioural change in order to improve air quality.
From all the solutions which were explored for the Bastille project, the partners chose the cable car pylon. This pylon was already lit up in accordance with the security regulations for the cable car (civil aviation) and its location also gives residents of the centre of Grenoble and the wider Grenoble an excellent view of the installation.
The Bastille and its ‘bubbles’, a historical and touristic symbol for the city, has now become a beacon of air quality for the people of Grenoble.
How does it work?
The technical side of this dynamic, autonomous installation consists of a control system at the upper cable car station that receives information on air quality from the Atmo Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes API and retransmits it in real time via a set of LED projectors on the pylon. A wireless connection transmits the signal from the upper station to the intermediary pylon, thus avoiding any construction work and preserving this natural site.
The installation has been designed to limit:
• electricity consumption, by selecting the most appropriate equipment fitted with LED technology
• light pollution: in accordance with regulations, the projectors are directed downwards.
This project gives everyone the opportunity to stay informed and to modify their behaviour in order to reduce their day-to-day impact by changing travel, consumption, or heating habits, or to limit exposure. Taking action to improve air quality means helping to improve health, the living environment, and well-being for every one of us. It means playing a part in preserving the environment, and also shining a spotlight on your local area.
You can also see the light installation every night on the Bastille webcam. Find all the information on air quality in Grenoble (Atmo scale, expert opinions, forecasts, pollen, monitoring stations in the area) on the Atmo Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes website: L’air de ma commune: Grenoble.
