Aérophile’s balloon brings breath of fresh air to Paris

The Air de Paris Balloon is a unique moored balloon in Paris that provides a source of information on air quality that is visible from over 20km. The balloon is also a tourist attraction that provides excellent views of the city.

The tethered balloon, which is located in the Parc Andre Citroën, in Paris’s 15th arrondissement, uses an innovative lighting system to provide real-time reports on atmospheric pollution via two distinct indexes:
-Ambient air quality, reflected through general illumination of the balloon using three projectors located upon the envelope’s equatorial plane, with better night time visibility.
-Air quality near major traffic arteries, using a LED belt at the tropicalline of the balloon

In Paris, data is collected by sensors set up by “Airparif” in several spots throughout the City (data complies with the new European index developed for the CITEAIR project and currently used by about thirty large cities.)

It monitors the quantity of the three most harmful contaminants (nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particles) found in the atmosphere, using an easy-to-understand colour coding – red for highly