Live alerts to protect people from air pollution risk

The region’s first air quality warning system to alert residents to high pollution in their neighbourhood was switched on by Mayor Richard Parker today (Tuesday, December 16).

People can sign up on the Clean Air West Midlands website to get a warning text, voicemail or email sent straight to their mobile phone with simple, practical tips to protect themselves from the dangers of breathing poor quality air.

The alerts will provide critical information for people living with long-term health conditions such as asthma, coronary heart disease, and lung cancer.

Clean air campaigners and NHS lung health experts have welcomed the action being taken by the Mayor and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to cut premature deaths linked to poor air quality.

As well as giving people up to the minute local air quality readings, the warning system will also advise on longer-term actions they can take to reduce exposure to harmful levels where they live.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Dirty air has a devastating effect on lives. It’s simply not acceptable that every year 2,300 people living in our region die prematurely because of air pollution, but we can change that.

“Thanks to this warning system and its network of air sensors, we’re able to monitor air quality more precisely than ever before so our communities have the tools and information they need to protect themselves.

“At the same time, we’re taking direct action to improve our air with a growing fleet of electric buses, hundreds of miles of new walking and cycling routes, and by restoring nature. We’re transforming our towns and cities into greener, cleaner, healthier places for today and generations to come.”

Mayor Richard Parker with Nicky MacDuff, nurse consultant in respiratory medicine, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, and Florence Cadge, clean air campaigner with Birmingham Healthy Air Coalition.

The forecast and alert system - launched at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton today - is being powered by a network of 90 air quality sensors installed outside homes, schools, businesses, hospitals and sports centres, recording the closest to real-time data ever collected in the West Midlands.

Warning alerts will be sent out via text, email or voicemail when microscopic particles from wood burners, vehicle tyres, building sites and factories go above safe thresholds set by the World Health Organisation.

They will also warn of high levels of nitrogen dioxide from roads and industrial sites.

Nicky MacDuff, nurse consultant in respiratory medicine, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said: “In the West Midlands, most of us live in built-up areas where pollution levels fluctuate. This alert system will help vulnerable patients with chronic conditions plan activities for times when pollution is lowest, reducing exacerbations and keeping them well.

“There are also exciting research opportunities that this data can offer, around health impacts and also in determining the efficacy of air quality improvement programmes. Alongside our ‘Safe air for everyone’ campaign, we want to mirror successes seen in places like Beijing, where sustained clean air efforts have led to fewer deaths and a better quality of life for future generations.”

Florence Cadge, clean air campaigner with Birmingham Healthy Air Coalition, said: “By keeping communities informed about air quality and practical steps to protect themselves, this system has the potential to reduce health risks, particularly for children, people with respiratory conditions, and other vulnerable groups.

“Air pollution is an invisible but serious threat, and today’s launch is an important step forward. However, lasting improvement will require ongoing action and commitment from all institutions across our region to ensure clean air for everyone.”

Communities across the region are also being supported with funding from the Mayor and WMCA to take their own action to tackle air quality and improve the health of local people.

Seventeen schools and community groups have shared £9,000 from the Clean Air Small Sparks Fund with successful projects including new walking clubs, street roller skating sessions, creative gardening projects and air pollution awareness campaigns.

All primary schools can also get free copies of Auntie Duck - an air quality-themed children’s storybook written by The Dog, Duck and Cat Charitable Trust with advice from Sandwell Council's air quality experts.

The book helps children understand air pollution in a simple and fun way as it follows the story of Auntie Duck as she arrives from abroad to visit her nephew, Duck. Along the way she shares her experience of flying through poor quality air, and promotes road safety and active travel.

Find out more at www.dogduckandcat.co.uk/meet-auntie-duck.

The forecast and alert system has been developed by Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC), which has also developed forecast and alert systems for London, Manchester and York.

Residents can sign up for alerts and check hourly air pollution levels at cleanair.wmca.org.uk.