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AEA helps with Olympics air quality reporting

Since these articles were published, AEA Technology plc’s business, operating assets and employees were acquired on the 8 November 2012 by Ricardo plc and transferred to a new subsidiary, Ricardo-AEA Ltd. All employees were transferred to Ricardo-AEA Ltd as part of the acquisition and remain available for the execution of all projects via the new company, as are the entire capability and resources previously represented by AEA Technology plc. All individuals remained at previous locations with all offices being retained. 

A new UK-AIR Twitter account has been launched by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the devolved administrations (DAs), providing regular updates on the outdoor air pollution which UK citizens are exposed to as they go about their daily lives. It will be a key source of public information on air pollution levels during the London Olympics.

Using nowcast and forecast information, the service will typically tweet between two and five times per day keeping followers updated. When elevated levels of pollution are measured, links to health advice will be tweeted to ensure followers can take necessary precautions.

Commenting on the launch of the new digital service, AEA’s air quality knowledge leader Paul Willis said:

“Air quality at Olympic venues around the UK will undoubtedly be under increased scrutiny over the next two weeks. The launch of the new Twitter service will provide the athletes and public with instant access to current and predicted levels of air pollution throughout the Games, and beyond. The service was developed by AEA, and integrates with the UK-AIR website, which AEA also delivers on behalf of Defra and the DAs.”

The UK-AIR website and Twitter service are underpinned by air quality information from other Defra and the DA funded projects in which Ricardo-AEA also has a leading role:

  • Nowcast measured pollutant concentrations are reported from the UK’s Automatic Urban and Rural air quality monitoring Network (AURN). AEA provides the quality assurance and quality control services for this programme to ensure that reported data meet the data quality objectives of the European Air Quality Directive.
  • Forecast air quality information is provided through the UK Air Quality Forecasting project operated by AEA on behalf of Defra and the DAs. This is supported by AEA’s  team of expert air quality forecasters and the WRF-CMAQ air quality model - which AEA has been instrumental in implementing in real-time forecasting mode for the first time in the UK.


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