The Aerosol Science Team has released its PM dashboard, a web-based tool showing the chemical composition of PM2.5 in London’s air. Data collected from advanced equipment located at the team’s air quality supersites is updated every hour and disseminated live to the public. To visit the dashboard click here.

PM2.5 comes from a wide range of natural and man-made sources. Measuring its composition helps our researchers recognise which are most important in contributing to the concentrations we are exposed to now and in the future. Understanding this composition is crucial to recognising which components may be more detrimental to health and to designing the most effective policies to reduce concentrations.

The team collaborates closely with the National Physical Laboratory to ensure data is of the highest quality. It also works with the Met Office and reports Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment (NAME) system outputs to show where the air in London now has been for the previous 3 days to help understand what sources and atmospheric processes have influenced current concentrations.

For more information about the dashboard watch this short video.