airquality - E.BRX.IO

Tagged

airquality

These posts track my adventures in measuring and evaluating air quality in Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne.

West-bound from Eastbourne

All good things come to an end ... in this world. Decommissioning weather station and air quality monitorDue to operator relocation this Eastbourne-based weather station and air quality monitor have had to be decommissioned and moved. As already noted on the original brxnet.org website, it's been a fun and informative

Lockdown low levels low down

Lockdown low levels low down

Strong winds and rain have kept particulate pollution levels low over the last few weeks in Eastbourne. Everyone from NASA to Luftdaten.info to little monitoring stations like this one have been observing the lower incidence of pollution.

Very high PM2.5 as haze hoves over the horizon

Very high PM2.5 as haze hoves over the horizon

Pollution levels are climbing again on Wednesday as a haze comes in. Instantaneous PM2.5 has exceeded 80μg/m³ (DAQI "very high", index 10).

Pollution goes sky-high despite lockdown

Pollution goes sky-high despite lockdown

Particulate matter pollution has increased as the week has continued, despite media reports last week of the Coronavirus lockdown resulting in reduced pollution levels.

Book review: "Clearing the air" by Tim Smedley

Book review: "Clearing the air" by Tim Smedley

A great book for beginners in the topic, and for those who are keen to communicate the topic to others.

Of the charts

The new charts system involves InfluxDB and Grafana, logging data from multiple sources into one database so they can be queried together and represented on the same graph

Rebooting the HPMA115S0-XXX

Rebooting the HPMA115S0-XXX

The idea of a portable detector to take to different locations or when travelling seemed very useful. Personal exposure to PM is, after all, the key thing.

Fresh start for a new decade?

Fresh start for a new decade?

After a long run of fairly low levels of particulate matter pollution in Eastbourne, levels rose again as 2019 drew to a close. While on Twitter Defra was reporting low levels of PM across all regions, Eastbourne was experiencing PM2.5 peaks above 60μg/m³ (including one at midnight -

Walking in a particulate matter wonderland

Walking in a particulate matter wonderland

Air quality levels remain good in Eastbourne as Christmas approaches. This is boring but brilliant news for local residents. According to my sensor we had a brief spike in PM2.5 at the start of December

Sensor sensibility

Sensor sensibility

The temperature got down to a frosty -2°C, which is quite low for Eastbourne, especially this early in December. And as the temperature dropped so the reported particulate matter levels rose. I was concerned at first that it might be a fault with the sensor, because the correlation was

Claremont Hotel fire

Claremont Hotel fire

I have just picked up the sad news about the Claremont Hotel fire, right next to the pier on Eastbourne seafront.

Levelling up

PM2.5 levels in Eastbourne have spiked twice today to over 50µg/m³, PM10 levels followed a similar pattern.

Raindrops keep falling on my particulate matter levels

Raindrops keep falling on my particulate matter levels

Eastbourne has again enjoyed some nice, low particulate matter levels this week. Floating 24h average readings for PM2.5 have not risen above 8μg/m³ in the last seven days. Reasons may include: the temperature during that period only dropping briefly below 11°C, so central heating systems have not

Eastbourne expectations

Eastbourne expectations

Air quality in Eastbourne over the summer looks like it was generally very good, apart from the Lydd fire incident back on 24 July and the bank holiday bump on 26 August. Autumn is setting in now though.

Bank holiday bump

Bank holiday bump

It's been a brilliant bank holiday weather-wise with highs of 28°C and calm seas making for perfect sunbathing conditions on the beach, and thousands of people having been making the most of the opportunity. Of course, I've been interested to keep an eye on the air quality, and there

Lydd Ranges fire fallout

Lydd Ranges fire fallout

The cause of this evening spike in particulate matter would appear to be the fire near Lydd in Kent, 44km (27 miles) away. PM2.5 peaked at just over 240μg/m³, while PM10 peaked at just over 260μg/m³.

Eastbourne in bloom and a sub-Saharan plume

Eastbourne in bloom and a sub-Saharan plume

On the evening of Tuesday 18 June we had a spectacular thunderstorm at the end of an unusually wet and unsettled period. The media widely reported more than 1,000 lightning strikes in the Eastbourne area.

Marvellous May

May manifests merely mild measurements of microscopic matter mist, marvellous!

Haze lowers temperature, hides air hazard

Haze lowers temperature, hides air hazard

Eastbourne today experienced what was most likely a mild sea fret. It was not a thick fog, we could still see the pier from the harbour, but it was sufficient to keep temperatures below what the rest of Sussex was enjoying.

Sunny Eastbourne Easter Saturday

Sunny Eastbourne Easter Saturday

As if the filth of the world's air had been taken away somehow, particulate matter levels have dropped right back to DAQI "Low" levels this Easter weekend.

Multisensory experience

Multisensory experience

With the wind out of the south east at several points today the distinctive odour of the Sovereign Harbour Sewage Works was noticeable. But that was not the only unpleasant thing in the air today. According to my SDS011 particulate matter sensor PM2.5 and PM10 levels were especially high

Windswept but not completely clean

Windswept but not completely clean

Storm Gareth has been making its presence felt this week with very high winds and some rain in Eastbourne. PM2.5 shows ups and downs but the maximums only reach the middle of the DAQI "Low" band, which is good news.

New month same story

New month same story

March already and PM2.5 levels have not dropped all the way down yet. Overnight readings were Low, touching Moderate briefly. Same story during daylight today. Regional climate conditions and international pollution sources have been driving Eastbourne PM2.5 levels recently.

Final surge before wind wipeout?

PM2.5 yesterday was moderate during the morning, rising steadily through the afternoon and evening to very high by 2200hrs where it stayed mostly until a huge spike up to 168ug/m³ early this morning. Since then levels have dropped right off down to their lowest in six days.

Peripatetic Parisian pollution policy

Peripatetic Parisian pollution policy

I have been keeping an eye on the MetClim PM10 forecast for the last few days. The forecast has been accurate. The source of pollution has been Paris. How do we handle international pollution?