A new network of 225 high definition air quality sensors has been installed in the London Borough of Camden.
Air quality specialist AirScape has recently completed the installation of its AirNode devices, working with the council and action group the Camden Clean Air Initiative.
The company said the network provides an increased granularity of air quality data, breaking down to sections of streets and short periods of time, with 45 times more spatial resolution and 60 times more refreshes than Camden’s previous sensor network.
It is also making current and retrospective data freely available to the public on its web platform, which has been released in a beta version.
Cllr Adam Harrison, cabinet member for a sustainable Camden said: “Reducing air pollution is absolutely vital to improving the health and wellbeing of everyone in Camden. The detailed data from this network will revolutionise how we can engage with our community, giving us the power to make smarter, informed decisions to tackle air pollution.
Jeffrey Young, CEO of the Camden Clean Air Initiative, said: “The AirScape project aligns directly with the Camden Clean Air Initiative’s vision to fill the borough with real time air quality sensors and place Camden at the forefront of the London’s sustainability agenda.”
Community interest
Airscape said community groups are now showing an interest in using data from the platform: cycling groups are using it to find the cleanest times and routes for rides and a school has used it for a lesson on air quality.
It added that early findings from the beta version include that on 17 June, the hottest day of the year so far, there were unhealthy levels of ozone across the borough, and that a fire on that day led to a plume of harmful PM2.5 moving with the wind to the north-east.
