City of London launches air quality tool

The City of London has launched a new online tool that allows residents to check air quality levels in real time.

Air Aware – developed with funding from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – shows live particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide levels, and also features a chat function to give advice and answer users’ questions.

The online tool was initially launched in the boroughs of Hackney, Newham, and Tower Hamlets in February 2024, and has now been adopted by the city’s financial district.

“Air Aware demonstrates just how important it is to work together in order to make real changes to the environment across the capital and beyond,” said Mary Durcan, chair of the City of London Corporation’s Port Health and Environmental Services Committee.

“By collaborating with neighbouring boroughs, we’ve been able to create a useful resource for people who want to know more about air quality in areas they live, work, and explore.

“Over the past six months, we’ve been working together and listening, to develop a tool with the information local people really want, to help them make informed decisions about their daily lives.”

Cutting pollution

The resource also serves as an information hub with videos and a community section with news and local events.

The City of London Corporation says it has taken a “number of bold and practical steps” to improve air quality, including the introduction of emissions-based charges for on-street parking and a three-year project with Camden Council encouraging drivers to switch off their vehicle engines when idling.

Earlier this month the Corporation launched a consultation on a new Air Quality Strategy, which will set out how it intends to improve air quality over the next five years.

The Corporation says data from the current strategy (2019 to 2024) has revealed a 40 percent reduction in nitrogen dioxide and fine particles, with national standards for fine particles being met across the whole of the Square Mile.

In the UK, long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with an estimated 29,000 to 43,000 deaths per year.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that approximately seven million deaths occur annually due to exposure to outdoor and household air pollution.

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