The essential air quality apps to help you navigate wildfire season

’Tis the season for breathing—and, in many parts of the world, wondering if the air you’re inhaling is going to cause problems. With my family approaching our one-year anniversary of living in California, wildfires and air quality are all-too-real elements of our day-to-day life. But the reality is that air quality travels—and even if you don’t live somewhere that’s dry and prone to that type of activity, the quality of the air around you can vary wildly based on what’s happening both near and surprisingly far. It also fluctuates based on factors that have nothing to do with fires, like pollen and other common allergen levels. Living here has been a real wake-up call for me about the realities of air quality—and that’s led me to do a whole bunch o’ searching, testing, and experimenting to find the best tools for tracking air quality and knowing when there’s cause for concern. The tools I want to share with you today are the result of that experience. And regardless of where you live, they’re well worth your while to keep around and lean on so that you’re aware of the air around you. This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next …