Vortex support Cardiff Council with large VTX Air network

As part of the Clean Air Cardiff initiative, Vortex’s monitors will measure Nitrogen Dioxide and very small particles of dust known as Particulate Matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) - and further improve how Cardiff Council measures air pollution to deliver more comprehensive air quality benefits across the city.

Public Health Wales has stated that poor air quality is a critical health concern and the most significant environmental determinant of health, with estimates between 1,000 – 1,400 deaths attributed to air pollution each year.

The new monitors, manufactured in South Wales, will collect localised air pollution data every five minutes and will help inform the Council where interventions should be made to improve air quality and enable them to judge their effectiveness.

Cllr Dan De'Ath continues and says, "The latest study into air pollution in Cardiff shows that residents enjoyed cleaner air across the city throughout 2021 when compared with pre-pandemic figures in 2019. Although this data is encouraging, there is more work to do. We need to continue to reduce the levels of pollutants. If we want people to be healthier, we have to encourage people to be less reliant on their cars and to make the shift to public transport, cycling or walking. Not only will it benefit people's health, but will help the city reduce our carbon imprint as we look to combat climate change.

"Along with emissions from industry, vehicle emissions, especially from diesel vehicles, are the highest-contributing factor to poor air quality in cities across the UK. By enhancing our monitoring network with these new monitors, we will better understand Cardiff's air quality, allowing us to react quickly to any pollution concerns and ensure appropriate measures are put in place to reduce air pollution and improve the air that our residents breathe."

The Council will use the real-time data from the VTX Air monitors to analyse the changes in air quality throughout the day, week and year, and will be reported either quarterly or monthly on the Shared Regulatory Services website.

By having a real focus on the air quality status quo outside schools and with traffic being an obvious problem around school streets, the Council will now be able to measure the impact of idling vehicles during these peak times.

"The new network of VTX Air monitors across the city and wider Cardiff area will provide accurate and hyperlocal data on a range of pollutants to support local air quality improvement projects and promote a greater public awareness of the harmful impacts of air pollution".

Using our portal and a customised application programming interface (API), the Council can become more self-aware of activities that cause levels to rise and identify the pollution blind spots to plan future air projects while validating current interventions' success.

Collecting data on particulate matter and gasses, VTX Air monitors are deployed on a highly secure decentralised mesh network and powered by AI, ensuring a constant calibration with Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) stations with any required configurations performed over the air.

For more information on our air quality services, contact us here: https://vortexiot.com/contact.