A newly installed monitoring station has been recording the air pollution outside a children’s nursery and playground in Whitfield Street, and the public are invited to attend an event at the site this Saturday to learn more about the project.
The air pollution monitor is part of the Breathe London network — run by the Environmental Research Group at Imperial College London who run the London Air Quality Network — and has been set up by the Fitzrovia Trust, a registered charity which owns the nursery site and playground.
“We want to understand the current levels of air pollution in Fitzrovia and work with local clinicians and scientists to help objectively examine the impact this is having on users of the nursery and local residents,” says the Fitzrovia Trust.
The monitoring station will record PM 2.5 particulates and nitrogen dioxide levels.
Dr Ali Yazdi, a cardiologist at Barts Heart Centre, told Fitzrovia News: “We’re holding an event to discuss the results to date with the hope of starting up conversations about what can be done to improve air quality in the area.”
Nitrogen dioxide levels were previously recorded using diffusion tubes outside the Whitfield Street site between August 2017 and March 2018 by the Fitzrovia Neighbourhood Association, as part of a project organised by Camden Council.
Over the seven months the mean NO2 level was recorded as 40.3µg/m3 — just over the limit of the UK annual mean objective.
The new, more sophisticated, monitor will give more accurate results in near real-time from the project’s website.
Local people can come along to learn about the current air quality levels in Fitzrovia; find out about how air pollution affects health; and discuss what can be done to improve air quality locally at the event on Saturday.
Fitzrovia Air Quality Monitor Switch On, 2pm to 3pm, Saturday 2 March 2024, at Whitfield Nursery and Playground, 54A Whitfield Street, London W1T 4ER. Everybody welcome. Free event. Just turn up.