Using airTEXT.info

Controls

The map can be used either with the onscreen button controls or with mouse gestures.

The controls can be found in the top right corner of the map pane. Clicking the directional arrows allows you to pan the map, while the + and - icons allow you to zoom in and out respectively.

If you prefer to use your mouse you can hold a left click over the map to drag it, and use your mouse wheel to zoom in and back out.

Use the slider just above the map pane to change the date of the displayed information. You can display forecasts for today and tomorrow.

Creating a favourite zone

A favourite zone is used to automatically open and zoom the map to the specified location to save you time. On mobile devices it is instead used to scroll down to the correct row of information.

To create a favourite zone, simply click the star icon next to a zone in the zone selection pane. The star should now appear illuminated. Please note you may have only one favourite at a time.

To undo this, or to remove a favourite zone, simply click a favourited zone's star (the star should go dim once again).

Toggles

Along the right side of the map you will see a boxed section entitled "Map Toggles". Checking the box will cause a colour contour map of pollution to be overlaid on the map.

From the drop down box you can select the maps for different pollutants: PM10 (particulate matter up to 10micron in diameter), O3 (ozone) or NO2 (nitrogen dioxide). Selecting Pollution map, which is the default option, shows the map with the highest values for that day.

Using the opacity slider, you can change how transparent the map overlay will appear.

Mobile users

If you are a mobile user you may visit airtext.info/mobile. When viewing this page from your mobile device this redirection should occur automatically. However, you can either click the previous link or the large mobile bubble at the bottom of this page in case the transfer does not happen.

If we have mistakenly identified you as using a mobile device, or you wish to view the regular site from your mobile device, visit airtext.info/normal or append the "/mobile" with "/normal" in your url.

Accessibility

Accessible airTEXT

Click here to go to airTEXT designed especially for users who are hard of sight or who only have access to viewing this site with text readers. For users encountering display errors with this site in your current web browser and who do not wish to upgrade or change, the accessible version also comes recommended.

Javascript and cookies

To make full use of this site Javascript needs to be enabled, and cookies are required to assign a favourite zone.

A cookie is used to store data. It is handled by your web browser, and can be deleted in your web browser privacy settings. This website, airTEXT.info, will only store a single, persistent cookie for one of our features (setting a favourite zone). For more information on cookies and the regulations behind them please visit this link.

Browser tips

To produce larger content on this website, most internet browsers support shortcuts to zoom in and out.

To zoom in you can hold the CTRL key, while either scrolling up on your mouse wheel or pressing the + key on your keyboard (this can be repeated several times).

To zoom out you can hold the CTRL key, while either scrolling down on your mouse wheel or pressing the - key on your keyboard (this can be repeated several times).

To reset to the default zoom level, hold the CTRL key, and press the 0 number key on your keyboard.

If you do not think your browser supports this functionality (or you think airTEXT may be displaying incorrectly because of your browser) we recommend downloading one of these web browsers, which have been tested to fully support airTEXT.info:

Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Internet Explorer 9

For help with using Mobile Browsers please visit this link: Opera Mobile Browser.

Receiving alerts

Visit the Sign Up page (sign up) to find out how to receive free alerts by SMS, email or voicemail.

Twitter

You can visit our Twitter site by visiting this link: Twitter. A full list of twitter services can be found by visiting our sign up page.

Facebook

You can visit our Facebook site by visiting this link: Facebook.

For further help

If you are unable to receive airTEXT alerts by any of these methods, please contact your local borough and advise them of this problem. This will help us plan our service for the future and ensure we get alerts to everyone who needs them.

How the forecasts are made

The forecasts of air quality are performed using CERC's airTEXT air pollution forecasting and alert system. Information from weather forecasts, forecasts of pollution across Europe and very detailed data on about 30,000 pollution sources across London are fed into the ADMS-Urban air pollution model to produce the forecasts of pollution. The concentrations of four pollutants are calculated: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulates (PM10 and PM2.5) and ozone (O3). From the concentrations the daily air quality index (DAQI) of each pollutant is derived. The DAQI corresponding to the pollutant which gives the highest value of the DAQI is the value shown in this app, so the DAQI shown may correspond to a different pollutant (NO2, PM10, PM2.5 or O3) on different days.

Forecast values of UV, grass pollen and temperature are supplied by MeteoGroup.