Air quality forecasting

CERC's air quality forecasting services provide information about future air pollution several days in advance, empowering the public to take control of their health. Individuals with conditions such as asthma or COPD, who may be at risk during pollution episodes, can plan to reduce physical exertion or outdoor activity.

CERC provides air quality forecasts at the urban and local scale. Forecasts can be delivered in a wide variety of formats, including very high resolution online air quality forecast maps, and air quality alerts to the public by SMS/text message, voicemail, e-mail or an app.

The forecasts are produced using CERC's world-leading air quality modelling software, ADMS-Urban. Emissions data, alongside weather forecasts and forecasts of atmospheric composition from providers such as CAMS, are input to ADMS-Urban to produce concentration data at a high degree of spatial resolution.

Emissions data for input to the forecasting system are collated from national emissions records and local inventories. Figures for all the major pollutants are calculated by looking at vehicle flows on major roads, outputs from industry and releases from residential and commercial areas.

CERC currently provides air quality forecasting services for various parts of the United Kingdom (Greater London and south-east England, Manchester and York), Latvia (Riga), Malaysia (Klang district) and, in conjunction with partner services, in Hong Kong, Spain (Barcelona) and China (Beijing). Our French partner Numtech provide air quality forecasts using ADMS-Urban for about twenty French cities, Dubai and Casablanca.

Previously, CERC has provided forecasts for Budapest, Vienna and various locations in the UK, including the Tees Valley, Wakefield, Liverpool and Sheffield.