The parallel between the cars' lights and the light on the man's mask tells a powerful story about the invisible pollution choking the air. An image with a relatable individual fits with the recommendations from our Climate Visuals research.
WHAT IT SHOWS: A villager from NTO Kuppam, Chennai, India, wears an LED face mask lit up with current air quality readings. Part of the Unmask My City air pollution campaign, the mask changes colour dynamically according to local air pollution levels, with the colours matching Air Quality Index standards for PM2.5 particulates. Here it glows yellow, showing pollution levels are at least double World Health Organization standards for healthy air. This is a good day for the small village, which is threatened by the growth of coal power, heavy industry and the relentless movement of trucks through it, and is known to experience far higher air pollution levels.