Flock Of Pigeons Released To Measure London's Air Pollution

by the Guardian | Nature

* On a Mission: Pigeon released to measure air polution

The above pigeon is among a flock of racing birds equipped with pollution sensor and Twitter accounts before released to take part in a scheme to raise awareness of London's illegally dirty air, the Guardian reports Tuesday.

The UN environment tweeted "The @PigeonAir Patrol took to the skies yesterday to measure #AirPollution in London."

Gary Fuller, an air quality expert at King’s College London, said it was the first time he had heard of urban animals being put to such use.

“It’s great that unemployed pigeons from Trafalgar Square are being put to work. Around 15 years ago tests were done on around 150 stray dogs in Mexico City, showing the ways in which air pollution was affecting lungs and heart health. But this is the first time that I’ve heard of urban wild animals being used to carry sensors to give us a picture of the air pollution over our heads.”

Read the full story www.theguardian.com.