Anyone suffering from asthma or other respiratory illnesses can now look up a website and check the amount of harmful ground-level ozone in cities or towns in Europe - with the data coming in on an hourly basis.
The real-time ozone data is gathered by the European Environment Agency (EEA) from 700 monitoring stations in 21 countries, including Ireland. The website (www.eea.europa.eu/maps/ozone) went "live" in August.
Either by entering a place name or by clicking on a map of Europe, users are able to follow air quality locally and on a EU-wide scale. The website will also include information on the health implications of the ozone levels people are experiencing.
High concentrations of ground-level ozone, mainly generated by vehicle exhausts, is a major health hazard and responsible for as many as 20,000 deaths in Europe every year. Up to 30 per cent of Europe's urban population is exposed to it.
Tim Haigh of the European Environment Agency said the EU's recommended limit for ozone pollution is 100 micrograms per cubic metre. If it rises to 180 microgrammes, the EU Commission must be notified while the local population must be alerted if it goes above 240.
Mr Haigh said the agency was working to expand the website by including data on other air pollutants such as particulate matter (soot), which also causes respiratory problems.
