IoT Environmental Monitoring Applications – Creating a Better Future for All

In this article, we will go over various environmental applications of IoT. We shall first look at how IoT can help create a greener and cleaner environment and then look at 10 applications of IoT in a green environment. So buckle up, and read till the end of the article.

IoT Uses in a Green and Clean Environment

We all know that IoT has infinite applications in many domains and fields. In short, IoT has the power to change the world. It can make the environment cleaner, greener, and better.

Even though IoT may not directly contribute to a better nature, indirectly, it contributes to so many applications that make mother nature the beauty she was once. They say, “Every huge project begins with small contributions.”

Let us take a look at some fascinating Environmental Applications of IoT that are helping nature become green and clean once again:

1. Waste Management

We all know that waste is one of the major contributors to the nature we live in today (polluted and not green). Even though we have policies to separate wet and dry waste, most of us don’t follow them.

So, when humans don’t follow the rules, we can get robots and programs into the game to help us. There are several ways IoT helps in waste management. One example is waste segregation with an embedded system that segregates and monitors the level of the bin.

The status of the bins is sent to the concerned authorities to clear out the containers, whose locations are traced through the internet. IoT waste management, or smart waste management, aims to update the quality of waste collection and recycling.

2. Vehicle Tracking

Keeping on the subject of garbage, IoT methods like route optimization help reduce fuel consumption by garbage trucks. Even though automobiles are slowly becoming electric, internal combustion engines still pose a threat to pollution levels.

However, using IoT technology in “connected vehicles”, we drivers can find the best route to reach their destination, find parking spots easily, and so on. Hence, pollution levels would decrease drastically with improved efficiency in time and fuel consumption.

3. Water Management System

Various IoT sensors can help identify risks in water plants and the water management system. We can use IoT sensors and actuators to deliver real-time analysis of the water bodies in a locality, city, or town.

Cities can also avoid sewage overflow risks by using IoT to monitor water bodies and their supply chain and alert officials quickly in case of a disturbance in the path of the flow of water. Besides water management, city corporations can also use IoT to save energy and manage water bodies.

4. Air and Water Pollution

Manual labour for controlling pollution is one of the older methods. But today, IoT eliminates the need to be dependent on extra labour, constant sampling, and monitoring. We all know that IoT revolves around collecting and storing data.

This feature enables us to store data about polluted and green areas, track environmental conditions, and send data to government bodies. IoT provides pollution monitoring solutions in smart cities to help reduce climate change drastically.

5. Monitoring Air Quality

If there is one primary emerging global concern, it has to be air pollution. If the ever-increasing rate of pollution continues, we all will have to wear masks not to protect us from Covid -19 but to prevent lung cancer from just breathing normal air.

According to a report by WHO (World Health Organization), 7 billion premature deaths occur worldwide due to air pollution. Poor quality air significantly affects food, weather, water, and more.

However, simple, low-cost, and innovative IoT devices have enabled government bodies to monitor the air quality index. These allow us to track the root cause of air pollution, and cities can implement corrective measures to reduce air pollution, which makes the environment clean.

6. Disaster Management

IoT can save the land from potential destruction, provide quick help to the victims, and help in faster recovery from natural calamities.

a. We can use NFC for perimeter fencing and geofencing to help generate effective responses.
b. Data analysis and predictive data generate awareness of the situation for constructive planning.
c. RFIDs can be used for recovering from natural destruction.
d. IoT can help prevent disasters by constantly sensing changes in the environment and storing real-time data.

7. Protecting Endangered Species

Large organisations like WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) are using various IoT monitoring systems to locate and protect endangered species. They are using sensors and drones in those places where humans have not yet reached to detect the presence of endangered plants and animals.

Once these devices detect such animals, we can plant implants that constantly give us information about animals’ vitals and locations and protect them from ruthless hunters and diseases.

8. Smart Agriculture

Farming is a way of life. None of us would exist if it weren’t for agriculture and the farmers. If you look carefully, more technology is implemented, researched, and developed for farming than your 9 to 5 job.

So much technology is used that even farming has become “smart”.

The answer to meeting the global demand for food lies within sustainable food production with smart agriculture. This concept also reduces the environmental footprint and waste of resources and helps achieve environmental sustainability.

We can use various IoT devices that gather data about the factors such as soil conditions, soil moisture level, temperature, etc., contributing to crop growth. These analytics provide helpful insight into various farming practices, like fumigation, fertilisation, irrigation, and more.

Smart agriculture also helps farmers avoid conditions that might impact the health of crops and reduce error-prone and inefficient human interventions, along with minimising water, chemical, and other resource utilisation.

9. Monitoring Forests

One cause of pollution is forest fires. We can avoid these by keeping IoT sensors and cameras that can detect fire and immediately alert the nearest fire department to extinguish the fire. Such measures not only reduce pollution but also safeguard the lives of thousands of plants and animals.

Apart from checking for fires, these sensors can also monitor the general well-being and ecosystem of the forest. In addition, these sensors can also collect data about endangered and rare species, which scientists can analyse and study to further learn about new plants and animals.

10. Cold-Chain Management

Food wastage is a huge problem with no proper solution. Not waiting for food is entirely in our hands. So the next time you throw food, take a second to think about the millions of families and children that don’t even get to eat 1 square meal a day.

Nearly one-third of the total food produced globally is wasted. It means that almost 1.6 billion tons of food are dumped yearly. Moreover, with all the technology, effort, and energy it takes to grow these crops, an estimated 1.2 trillion dollars of losses are encountered.

The good news is that food wastage is not entirely dependent on you. There are multiple other reasons too. One such reason is the inappropriate recording of temperatures in the food supply chain. The quality of food depends on these temperatures in cold storage.

With the help of IoT, we can have smart cold chains that can monitor ambient conditions for the food, such as light intensity, air quality, humidity, and, most importantly, temperature.

These 10 examples are only a few. There are many other applications of IoT that are constantly battling many problems for the betterment of mother nature. If there is one thing we must do after all the deterioration we have done on earth, we must love nature as much as we love ourselves.

Summary

You have now learned many applications where we can make use of IoT for the betterment of our environment. In this article, we have seen 10 fantastic examples: monitoring pollution, smart agriculture, managing cold chains, monitoring forests, waste management, and so many more.