The increased awareness of the impact of air quality, and the importance of improving air quality, has led to a spate of smart cities around the world capturing and making available (in real time) air quality information for citizens.
Last month we published an article reporting on the link between Air Quality and the Coronavirus. In fact, air quality is an increasingly critical issue and we cover this regularly on the Sonitus Systems website, you can catch up on our most recent articles by clicking on the links below:
- Air quality in Ireland
- Air quality concerns in Asia
- Air quality health implications for mainland Europe
This increased awareness of the impact of air quality, and the importance of improving air quality, has led to a spate of smart cities around the world capturing and making available (in real time) air quality information for citizens.
Most recently, authority website Smart Cities Dive wrote about this in an article titled Growing cities to monitor air quality for urban planning. The author documents the ways in which poor air quality negatively affects human productivity and health. In 1970, the U.S. EPA successfully lobbied for the Clean Air Act. Since then, more and more environmental agencies are getting involved in monitoring air quality around the world. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 39% of the U.S. population live in cities with a population of 50,000 or more and each of these cities (mainly located in the south and in the west of the country) grow by more than 10,000 each year. This population growth creates opportunities for economic growth and with that, ideally, comes the improvement of the lives of citizens and visitors to these cities. However, more people tend to equate to higher levels of air pollution (although not necessarily). Air quality sensors are empowered by the Internet of Things or IoT technology to collect and examine air quality data. Local authorities, including urban planners, can use the data to gain insights on a whole range of city issues, for example, determining the best placement for a new school in order to minimize student exposure to areas of poor air quality.
It is great to see Dublin City leading the charge for citizen empowerment around air quality, as recently documented here: Covid 19: Smartcities Empowering Residents with Air Quality Data and our team at Sonitus Systems was delighted to be the technical provider of this critical smart city solution.
Finally, it is significant that ‘1 in 4 motorists [are] considering EV purchase after lockdown’, according to Air Quality News. CarWow.co.uk have conducted a survey that revealed over 40% of the 1,000 motorists questioned have spent approximately £10 on petrol and diesel for their cars in the past two months and almost 33% have spent nothing at all. 25% of motorists have said that they have considered buying an electric vehicle after learning about the reduction in air pollution and CO2 emissions during the lockdown period. London drivers are reporting similar intentions, with 34% saying they are also considering the switch.
Vix Leyton, consumer expert at CarWow.co.uk says
“It is certainly a rare bit of positive news that so many motorists are taking notice of how lockdown is affecting the CO2 emissions polluting the towns and cities of Britain, and will actively look to adopt a more environmentally friendly method of driving once a semblance of normality is resumed”.
Does your organisation require air quality monitoring? Sonitus Systems offers comprehensive air quality monitoring, using the latest technology and automated systems. We simplify the air monitoring process, giving you access to real-time data and online reporting. For more details on our air quality monitoring products and services, contact the team at Sonitus Systems