As part of my ongoing cooperation with the MeMeteo weather forecast app I wrote texts for three informers in the app.
Informers are small tips that appear when you click on some parameter or feature in the application. They usually look like the letter “i” in a circle.
Outdoor writer from the Dolomites, Italy, and Karelia, Finland
— Informers help to quickly understand what you see on the screen so that you don’t have to spend time searching for the information outside the app.
A good informer is like a little story that has a beginning, a middle and an end. It gives an overview of an issue without going into details. In the case of the weather forecast, though, the details were very important.
For each informer I came up with a structure:
- What is this parameter about
- Where it came from and by whom it is regulated
- How this parameter affects people
- How to read the colors/scale
- What to do in case of high color/digit
Below is full version of the texts, which were published reduced in the app:
Geomagnetic storms (Planetary K-Index)
The value of disturbance of the Earth’s magnetic field caused by solar wind waves. It can last from several hours to several days with a negative impact on people’s health and electronic devices.
- Meaning: green (0—4 ) — small disturbance, orange (5) — weak storm, red (6) — moderate storm, red (7) — strong storm, red (8) — severe storm, red (9) — extreme storm.
- Update: every 3 hours.
- Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center.
Ultraviolet Index
The measurement of the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun. Long and less active stay under the sun, especially at a moment of high index, leads to potential damage to the skin and eye, and more serious diseases. Use sun protection, if the index is 3 (yellow) or higher.
- Meaning: green (0—2) — low, yellow (3—5)— moderate, orange (6-7) — hight, red (8-10) — very high, violet (11-12+) — extreme.
- Update: one a day.
- Source: World Health Organization (WHO) and WMO (World Meteorological Organization).
Air Quality Index
The indicator of air cleanliness calculated based on the five pollutants: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. The more harmful substances there are in the air, the higher the index.
- Meaning: green (0—50) — good, yellow (51—100) — moderate, orange (101—150) — unhealthy for sensitive groups of people, red (151—200) — unhealthy, purple — (201—300) — very unhealthy, maroon (301—500) — hazardous.
- Update: every day.
- Source: US federal law “Clean Air Act of 1963”.
Text: Ivan Kuznetsov
Cover photo: Todd Diemer / Unsplash
