Blueair praises London ’s bold initiative to warn Londoners about toxic air levels

Stockholm, Sweden, August 4, 2016 – Blueair has called on major cities worldwide to follow a new initiative by London to warn Londoners about air pollution in real time and provide advice about how they can protect their health during peak alerts. The toxic air alert program, announced today by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will start on August 15 and involve electronic update signs at all 270 London Underground stations and 2,500 bus countdown signs and river pier signs across the British capital.

“Sadiq Khan has shown big and bold thinking to meet the massive challenge of protecting human health and wellbeing in a major urban environment where pollutant particles frequently breach safe levels,” said Bengt Rittri, CEO of Blueair, a company he founded 20 years ago in Sweden to innovate the world’s best indoor air purifiers. Bengt said cleaning up the air in cities like London where 10,000 people are said to die prematurely every year because of filthy air quality is ‘the biggest environmental challenge facing humankind’.

Shortly after taking office as Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced a public consultation in May that saw 79 percent of respondents state they wanted information when air pollution reached high or very high levels. In addition to the thousands of warning signs at public transport sites, Londoners will also be able to read 140 road-side dot matrix message signs on the busiest main roads into London, with instructions to switch engines off when stationary to reduce emissions.

Depending on the alert level and communication channel, different information and guidance will be provided including: advising people to walk, cycle or use public transport if possible to help improve air quality; to reduce strenuous activity if someone experiences symptoms; or advising asthma sufferers and other vulnerable groups that they may need to use their reliever inhaler more often. The London Mayor will also use his Twitter account and other social media channels to make people aware of moderate air quality incidents, which occur around 40 times a year.

“Tackling outdoor air pollution is a key step to giving everyone on our planet the right to breathe clean air, but we must not forget that bad indoor air quality is the reverse side of the same coin and also causes long-term health problems,” said Bengt Rittri.

For more information, please contact
Dave Noble, Blueair Global PR & Communications, t. +44 7785 302 694 and e. david.noble@blueair.se