When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
LA STAMPA

Italian Researchers Use Drones To Pinpoint Air Polluters

Researchers are sending remote-controlled aircraft into residential neighborhoods to figure out just who's burning what in their stoves or fireplaces.

Smoke-finding drone by E-Lite systems engineering
Smoke-finding drone by E-Lite systems engineering
Domenico Zaccaria

TURIN — Drones that buzz around our homes and "sniff" chimneys? That's precisely what Air Pollution Control — a research project making smart use of remotely piloted aircraft and advanced-sensor technology — has in mind as a way to monitor and hopefully reduce dangerous household emissions.

In Italy, on average, only 25% of air pollution comes from moving vehicles. Another 25% is the result of industrial settlements. But the biggest share— the remaining 50% — is directly attributable to domestic heating.

Air Pollution Control is a project developed by Ancitel Energia e Ambiente, a company that operates in innovation and sustainable development. The company collaborated with partners in the technological innovation fields of automation, drones and sensors, such as start-up E-Lite Systems Engineering, and with pollution-focused research centers like the state-run Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research (CNR-IIA).

"As far as vehicles are concerned, with the gradual switch to electric and methane systems, we seem to be on the right track. And regarding industrial plants, emissions are subject to continuous monitoring and verification," says Filippo Bernocchi, president of Ancitel Energia e Ambiente. "But the situation is out of control when it comes to private housing. The control units currently installed in urban centers provide specific data connected to the observation site, which does not consider the cumulative effects. This means the data we have does not refer specifically to the quality of the air we breathe."

The drone's "nose" can sense what escapes the control units.

A recent study by Innovhub, a company that carries out applied research and provides scientific advice, found that as many as 1,200 Italian municipalities are not yet using natural gas (primarily LPG, the least polluting fossil fuel) for domestic heating. Gas, unlike fireplaces and pellet stoves, does not produce fine particles, which are the most troublesome pollutant. The European Environment Agency says that Italy's fine particulate matter (Pm 2.5) kills 66,000 people every year.

It is therefore essential to be able to monitor the pollutants produced by our homes: This was the starting point for the researchers who created Air Pollution Control. In the town of Feltre, in the north-eastern province of Belluno, an experimental phase offering reassuring results: The drone's "nose" can sense what escapes the control units. With a 15-minute flight, it can map out 10 hectares of territory. The project will be officially launched by the end of 2019.

"Air Pollution Control was created to help municipalities control risks and improve air quality, especially considering the use of biomass in urban areas," says Ugo Rossi of E-Lite. "Thanks to networks of sensors on the ground and in the air, we not only can obtain data relative to pollution in a short time, but also identify where the pollution comes from. This allows municipalities to act in a targeted, effective and efficient manner."

This means that we will soon have the first listings of residential polluters, which will allow administrators, data in hand, to intervene at the sources and take measures to facilitate the transition to less polluting forms of domestic heating.

By cross-referencing the data with land registry information, it will then be possible to sanction those who insist on lighting stoves and fireplaces even against municipal rules or those who burn forbidden substances. Now is a good time, in other words, for everyone to start cleaning up their act.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Geopolitics

The Nagorno-Karabakh Debacle: Bad News For Putin Or Set Up For A Coup In Armenia?

It's been a whirlwind 24 hours in the Armenian enclave, whose sudden surrender is reshaping the power dynamics in the volatile Caucasus region, leaving lingering questions about the future of a region long under the Russian sphere of influence.

Low-angle shot of three police officers standing in front of the Armenian Government Building in Yerevan on Sept. 19

Police officers stand in front of the Armenian Government Building in Yerevan on Sept. 19

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

It happened quickly, much faster than anyone could have imagined. It took the Azerbaijani army just 24 hours to force the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to surrender. The fighting, which claimed about 100 lives, ended Wednesday when the leaders of the breakaway region accepted Baku's conditions.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Thus ends the self-proclaimed "Republic of Artsakh" — the name that the separatists gave to Nagorno-Karabakh.

How can we explain such a speedy defeat, given that this crisis has been going on for nearly three decades and has already triggered two high-intensity wars, in 1994 and 2020? The answer is simple: the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed themselves into a corner.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest