London’s mayor announces new improvements to air quality alerts

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that he is teaming up with King’s College London to improve the way he informs the public about incidents of poor air quality in the capital.

Sadiq also plans to make it easier for all Londoners, including schools and community groups to take advantage of air quality monitoring sensors that can be purchased so they can know more about the pollution in their local area.

London has enjoyed the first January for 18 years so far without breaching legal hourly limits for toxic nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution. However, the city is now on the verge of breaking this legal limit. To coincide with this, the Mayor is now warning Londoners that we will soon be entering the Spring air pollution season, where we would typically expect to see an increase in the number of moderate and high pollution days.

Responding to Londoners’ requests to receive information when air quality is high or very high, Sadiq last year implemented a new programme of air quality advice and alerts for the public.

When high and very high air pollution is forecast, air quality alerts are displayed at many public locations across London including 2,500 bus stop countdown signs and all Tube stations. Alerts and guidance are also available via social media, an app and a text alert service providing information and guidance on the alert level.

To improve this system Sadiq has now appointed King’s College London as duty forecaster. From next week they will continuously monitor air pollution in London using the existing air quality monitoring network and cutting-edge modelling tools, delivering alerts as required.

They will also directly notify a wider group of stakeholders so that the alerts are disseminated more widely and targeted at Londoners who are most vulnerable to the impacts of poor air, including those at schools, and potentially care homes, and GPs surgeries in the near future.

The new King’s duty forecaster will consider forecasts from airTEXT and other forecasters to ensure greater coordination and consistency in alerts messaging. airTEXT provide text and other alerts to around 16,000 Londoners, including those with health conditions which polluted air can exacerbate. The model-based forecast that airTEXT uses will be improved to incorporate real-time monitoring data so that in-day updates can be issued.

Sadiq is also publishing guidance on how air quality is monitored in London, how Londoners can get involved and how they can understand what type of equipment is available for them to use.