Oxford increases air quality monitoring across local schools

Oxfordshire County Council has added six new Zephyr air quality monitors to schools across the region, bringing the total number to 17.

The monitors, from EarthSense, will be powered by solar or main electricity as appropriate, at Manor Primary School in Didcot and Dragon School and Wychwood School, St Mary, and St John Primary School Pegasus Primary School and Bayards Hill Primary School in Oxford. 

The fully managed solution helps Oxfordshire County Council to monitor and improve the air quality around local schools, driving strategies to improve safety at peak times and encourage a healthier lifestyle.

The Zephyr real-time monitor takes accurate measurements of ambient air pollutants including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxide (NO), ozone (O3), PM2.5 and PM10. The data is fed back to EarthSense’s MyAir web application where it can be analysed and downloaded to track short and long-term pollution patterns, allowing Oxfordshire County Council to see how successful the scheme is and if there are any areas that require further improvements.

Used in combination with the MappAir air quality model, users can pull various insights about areas of interest, such as pollution hotspots, peak times, and identify nearby sources contributing to elevated levels.

Rosie Rowe, Head of Healthy Place Shaping at Oxfordshire County Council said: ‘Since deploying the initial fleet of Zephyr air quality monitors and seeing the results, we’ve been interested in sourcing more sensors to be deployed at other school sites across the county. This now enables us to monitor air quality fluctuations in specific areas where public health interventions are taking place, such as encouraging parents to walk or cycle with their children to school rather than drive, and much more.’

Greg Lewis, Head of Sales and Marketing at EarthSense, added: ‘It’s very encouraging to see that the monitors are delivering results that are helping Oxfordshire County Council to continue with the development of their air quality management strategies, leading to further investment in air quality solutions.’