Hospitals, schools and businesses across London will be able monitor levels of air pollution in their local area, as the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launches a new network of sensors at key

locations as part of his Breathe London air quality monitoring project. 

Sadiq is funding more than 100 sensors to be installed at priority locations in the capital next year, enabling Londoners, businesses and community groups to see how polluted their local area is. For the first time, Londoners will also be able to “buy in” to the network at a low cost and host sensors in locations of their choice. This will revolutionise Londoners’ access to reliable data including for community groups, charities, businesses, individuals, academics and boroughs. Community groups and charities will be able to access the service at a discounted rate.

The new network will have a community focus and complement London’s existing, highest quality, reference grade monitors - most of which are owned and funded by London boroughs.  

 Allowing Londoners to “buy in” to the existing Breathe London network will significantly reduce the costs of sourcing reliable air pollution data for local projects or schemes like School Streets. In the past this has been prohibitively expensive, often leaving communities with no data, or worse - extremely inaccurate data with no quality control.  

The new network will also support London’s green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. As boroughs face challenging budget constraints, the new network will provide a low-cost option to supplement their reference monitoring, which is far more expensive to run. This will ensure that, despite budget cuts, boroughs are still able to increase the level of air pollution monitoring in their area. 

The rollout of these new sensors, provided by global sensing and data analytics company Clarity Movement Co., is the next phase of the world-leading Breathe London project. Sadiq launched the scheme in January 2019, making it affordable to access reliable air quality data for the first time. The expert Breathe London team have experimented with different kinds of sensor technology, including mobile sensors fitted to Google Streetview Cars, wearable sensors monitoring children’s exposure to air pollution on their journey to school, a pilot project using lower-cost fixed sensors in a dense sensor network and evaluating the air quality impact of School Streets. 

 Following the successful pilot scheme, the Mayor has now committed to fund the programme for the next four years. Breathe London will be delivered through Imperial Projects by the Environmental Research Group, their first major project after moving to their new global centre of air pollution research at Imperial College London.  

The project will focus on reaching communities that research shows have previously been less engaged with environmental programmes, including low-income and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups. This part of the project will be supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies who also co-fund the Schools Streets evaluation programme.  

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “This is a major milestone for our world-leading Breathe London sensor network. Giving Londoners the opportunity to see the levels of pollution in their local area will improve awareness and help people reduce their exposure. It will also help City Hall, TfL and the boroughs better target efforts on improving air quality for all. As we face up to the current climate emergency, I hope the success of this scheme will act as a blueprint for cities around the world to battle their own toxic air emergencies. 

“The onset of coronavirus - a vicious serious disease - has reminded us how important our work to clean up London's toxic air is. It requires bold and innovative action and we can't win this battle alone. This is why I have consistently demanded that the Government match my ambitions and improve the new Environment Bill to include legally binding WHO recommended limits to be achieved by 2030, and to give cities the powers and funding we need to consign air pollution to the history books once and for all.”

Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London, said: “Air pollution is a grave threat to the health of all Londoners, with the most vulnerable communities often hardest hit. The Breathe London community sensor network will equip our city with the data it needs to drive change and protect Londoners at both a local and city-wide level. At Imperial we are determined to help improve London’s air through our science and our links with local communities. We are grateful to the Mayor of London and Bloomberg Philanthropies for their pivotal investment in this vital work.”

 Photo by George Tsiagalakis, Wikimedia commons.