Air quality monitor launched in Newcastle

A new air quality monitor has been launched in Newcastle in order to collect information on traffic pollutants.

Earlier this week, scientists at Newcastle University announced the development of the Mobile Environmental Sensing System Across a Grid Environment (Message) project, which involves putting sensors on busy road junctions to enable researchers to analyse data on air pollution, the Engineer reported.

The air quality monitor was developed by professor Bayan Sharif and senior lecturer Jeff Neasham, who confirmed that the sensors are now being produced by EnviroWatch to be rolled out across cities in the UK.

Speaking with the news provider, Mr Neasham said: "The aim of this project was to improve our understanding of how pollution accumulates and disperses in our cities and ultimately to inform new traffic management plans that will improve urban air quality."

Earlier this month, environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth spoke out about the poor air quality of the capital, saying that the mayor Boris Johnson's plan to reduce the congestion charge zone is "guaranteed" to increase pollution in the city, Brentfordtw8.com reported.

Posted by Claire Manning