Air quality in Cork was described as ‘hazardous’ this week.

As the weather created conditions that made it difficult for emissions such as chimney smoke to disperse, air pollution monitoring system Purple Air recorded a concerning level of fine particulate matter (tiny particles) in the air.

Today, Cork City Council said the network of air quality monitors installed at various locations across the city could be ‘significantly over-estimating’ the pollution level.

“Together with air quality specialists in UCC, the City Council is currently evaluating the accuracy of these sensors.” said a Council spokesperson.

“Early data received indicates that under certain atmospheric conditions the Purple Air sensors are significantly over-estimating the particulate matter count. These sensors will continue to be evaluated throughout 2020 to ascertain if a correction factor needs to be applied to the data going forward.”

In the interim, for a more accurate picture of air quality in Cork, Cork City Council is advising interested parties to visit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, where data from four locations within Cork city is available

“These sites host a range of sensors measuring parameters such as Particulate Matter (PM), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and Ozone. They are intended for use as reference sensors and provide more accurate results.”