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City of York Council (CYC) provides this free service to residents to give advance warning of when air pollution is expected to be higher than usual, up to 3 days ahead. Residents can sign up for air quality alerts by text message, email and voicemail.
The air quality forecasts are produced by Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC). The system combines weather forecasts, European-scale pollution forecasts and very detailed data on pollution sources across York, using CERC's Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System for urban areas (ADMS-Urban), to predict air quality up to 3 days ahead at every 5 metre by 5 metre grid square across the city. These forecasts are issued twice a day at around 7:00am and 7:00pm. The forecasts are routinely compared with monitored levels to improve accuracy. Hourly concentrations of four pollutants are calculated: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulates (PM10 and PM2.5) and ozone (O3). From the hourly concentrations the daily air quality index (DAQI) for each pollutant is derived. The overall air quality index at any location is the highest index for any of these pollutants at that location. An alert is issued if more than 10% of the alert zone area is predicted to reach one of the DAQI alert thresholds.
European-scale air pollution forecasts are supplied by the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), which incorporates air pollution measurements from satellites. Weather and ultraviolet (UV) forecasts are supplied by DTN. Pollen forecasts are supplied by the Met Office.
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