🌫️ Smog Mirror

See how many cigarettes-equivalent you smoke just by breathing your city's air. Live AQI + routine + mask toggle that clears your lungs in one tap.

What is Smog Mirror?

A PM2.5 exposure calculator that answers the question "how many cigarettes am I smoking just by breathing?" Pick a city (or enable live AQI via a free waqi.info token), set your outdoor hours, choose a mask (cloth / surgical / N95 / P100), and pick commute type (walking 2× breath, cycling 2.5×, driving 0.6×). Watch a translucent glass lung fill with black tar and a cigarette stack rise in real time. Toggle N95 and the lung clears 95% in one second — the shareable screenshot. Uses Berkeley Earth's 22 µg/m³·day = 1 cigarette formula and the AQLI model (Greenstone 2024, U. Chicago EPIC) for life-years-lost, with 20 preset cities from Delhi (92 µg/m³) to Reykjavik (4 µg/m³).

How to Use

  1. Pick your city from the preset chips (Delhi, Lahore, Dhaka, Mumbai, Beijing, Dubai, Reykjavik, +14 more)
  2. Optionally enable live AQI by adding a free waqi.info token (1-minute sign-up, stored locally)
  3. Drag the outdoor-hours slider to match your routine
  4. Pick your mask — cloth, surgical, N95, or P100 — and watch the glass lung clear
  5. Set your outdoor activity type: walking and cycling double your breath intake, driving cuts it 40%
  6. Toggle indoor HEPA purifier (reduces indoor PM2.5 by ~75%)
  7. Share your result — "Breathing Delhi air is like smoking 3.2 cigarettes/day"

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the cigarette equivalence calculated?

Berkeley Earth (Muller 2015) established that 22 µg/m³·day of PM2.5 exposure produces roughly the same cancer risk as smoking 1 cigarette. We compute your time-weighted exposure, divide by 22, and display the daily cigarette-equivalent.

How are life years lost calculated?

From the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI, Greenstone 2024, U. Chicago EPIC): each additional 10 µg/m³ of annual PM2.5 above the WHO guideline (5 µg/m³) cuts life expectancy by ~0.98 years. Delhi at 92 µg/m³ therefore costs ~8.5 years.

Do I need an API token?

No. The tool ships with bundled annual-average PM2.5 data from the WHO and IQAir 2024 World Air Quality Report for 20 cities — it works immediately. Add a free waqi.info token for live station readings (optional).

Where is my token stored?

Only in your browser's localStorage. It never leaves your device. The AQI fetch goes directly from your browser to waqi.info.

How effective are masks in practice?

Lab ratings: N95 blocks ~95% of PM2.5, P100 ~99.97%, surgical ~70%, cloth ~50%. Real-world efficacy depends heavily on fit — a poorly-sealed N95 can drop to 60%. The tool uses lab numbers.

Is cycling really worse than driving?

In exposure terms, yes. Cycling increases minute-ventilation 2.5× (you breathe more air = more PM2.5), while driving with windows up cuts exposure 40% via partial cabin filtration. But cycling is still better for cardiovascular health overall — it's a trade-off.

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