A breath of fresh air for Games visitors and athletes as ERG at King's College London launch an updated website and air pollution apps.

The free London Air website and apps provide a map of Olympic venues along with air pollution information updated hourly, enabling people to see at a glance the pollution levels nearby. Hourly updated maps give street-by-street pollution levels to help London visitors to avoid exposure to highest levels of air pollution in the city, particularly if they are susceptible to respiratory problems.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "It is vitally important people have access to timely information about pollution episodes, especially during hotter, sunnier weather. So I welcome the development of this fantastic new app by the world-leading team at King's College which will provide invaluable information direct to smart phones and other devices."

The upgraded web site and apps also include: comparison of London's air pollution levels to internationally recognised World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines in real-time; air quality forecasts during the Games period supplied by Defra; information on how pollution can affect health and advice on how to minimise exposure.

Dr Gary Fuller from the Environmental Research Group at King's College London, said: "The effects of air pollution on athletes came to the fore during the 1984 Los Angeles Games, and has remained on the Olympic agenda ever since."

"For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games spectators and athletes will be able to access real-time air pollution information on any mobile device, wherever they are in London. We hope this will be useful for spectators and athletes alike. It will be particularly useful for people who are susceptible to respiratory problems, such as asthma, so they can avoid pollution hot-spots."

We would like to thank the whole team involved in this project:

• Gary Fuller
• Sam Hope-Evans
• Andrew Grieve
• Robert Hepburn
• Paul Mcilreavy
• Mark Woollard
• Francis Booth

Download the iPhone, Android and Google Chrome apps at the LondonAir Mobile Apps page.

For the full King's College London press release follow the link below.

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Item date 25/07/2012