Mobile Monitoring for the Spatial and Temporal Assessment of Local Air Quality (NO₂) in the City of London

• Main Authors: Fabio Galatioto, James Ferguson-Moore, Ruth Calderwood
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
• Series: Atmosphere
• Subjects: mobile Monitoring; statistical analysis; Smogmobile; Nitrogen Dioxide; precision systems; large areas
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/1/106

This paper reports on the analysis and findings of the data collected during a mobile air quality campaign commissioned by the City of London Corporation (CoL). This was done using an equipped vehicle capable of taking continuous precision measurements of local air quality while travelling within the City. Several comparative analyses on measured Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) data have been performed between Smogmobile data and those available from CoL precision systems as well as with indicative systems, namely Diffusion Tubes, distributed across the City. Key findings highlight that data collected from the Smogmobile, in terms of average concentration of NO₂ across the City (62 µg/m³), are very similar to those obtained by averaging the values from the 48 indicative systems (59.5 µg/m³), with an error of just 4%. Overall, this study demonstrates significant potential and value in using mobile air quality measurements to support assessment of air quality over large areas by Local authorities.