October 2020 – AQMesh project “Breathe London” in 3D

AQMesh online: London’s air quality can now also be viewed in 3D.

The Breathe London project is doing exciting pioneering work in many areas. In cooperation with the Environmental Defense Fund Europe and Google, a 3D data visualization has now been published: London’s air pollution data can now be accessed on a 3D map via Google Earth.

Between autumn 2018 and 2019, in addition to the city-wide network of 100 installed AQMesh pods, Google Street View vehicles were equipped with mobile sensors to take readings of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) values while driving through London.
A preliminary analysis of the data collected by the Google Street View vehicles found that NO₂ levels on major routes like Kennington Park Road were on average 50% higher than less traveled routes such as Alberta Street, which is just one street over.

As expected, air pollution in the capital has been high. In November 2019 it was reported (Link) that four out of five AQMesh pods recorded fine particulate matter levels (PM2.5) that were above the annual guidelines ​​of the World Health Organization (WHO). During the April national lockdown due to the Covid-19 crisis, data from the project showed a significant reduction in air pollution levels (Link) in the city, including an average 24% decrease in NO₂ across Greater London’s AQMesh network.

3D map of London at Google Earth: Link
The project “Breathe London”: Link
AQMesh article: Link
Our blog post from July 2019 about the project: Link
Our blog post from July 2020 about the Smart 50 Award: Link

More information on our website: Link