London Starts New Program to Track Air Quality

A new project called Breathe London will use stationary and mobile detectors to measure air quality throughout the city, reports Jenny Anderson:

The network will put 100 new fixed sensor pods in pollution hotspots and places where kids congregate, such as schools and nurseries. Sensors affixed to two Google view street cars will measure pollution about every 30 meters (98 feet), documenting pollution hotspots in real time for a year where fixed sensors cannot.

Children are especially vulnerable to the health effects of air pollution, and Mayor Sadiq Khan launched the Breathe London program at a school where almost a third of students have asthma.

The data gathered will be available on an interactive online map showing pollution sources and patterns and the impacts of factors such as weather and street design. "Armed with the data those monitoring systems provide, citizens particularly at risk will know what parts of the city to avoid, and policy makers will know where to concentrate efforts to reduce air pollution," notes Anderson.