Air app to help with heart and lung conditions

Using a free app provided by Chelmsford City Council, residents in the Chelmsford area can now check the quality of the air around them on their phones.

The free service, called airTEXT, can send air quality alerts via text message, email, voicemail or directly through a smartphone app. It also provides three-day forecasts of air quality, pollen, UV and temperature.

The Council, whose scientific team collects air quality data every hour, hopes it will be useful to anyone with an interest in pollution levels in the city and particularly those with lung or heart conditions.

“We take the duty of monitoring air quality in Chelmsford seriously, but a lot of people don’t know that it is one of our responsibilities,” said Councillor Susan Sullivan, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities. “The new airTEXT app allows us to share our findings more easily with people who live, work and play in the Chelmsford area. Although an alert is no cause for alarm, we hope the information will be especially useful to those who are particularly affected by changes in the air around us.”

Official guidance from DEFRA states that air pollution in the UK does not rise to levels at which anyone needs to stay indoors. However, a small minority of adults suffering from heart conditions, and of adults and children with lung conditions, can be affected by air pollution and may need to make minor adjustments to their day.

Health advice for ‘at risk’ individuals and the general population can be found on the DEFRA website at https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/air-pollution.

To sign up for the service, visit www.airtext.info/signup. To view local results online, visit www.airtext.info/chelmsford or download the airTEXT app on the App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android).

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