SOME 250 children in London will carry special backpacks on their journeys to school to monitor air quality exposure, it was announced Tuesday.

Primary school students up to the age of 11 will carry special backpacks fitted with state-of-the-art air quality sensors to help monitor the levels of toxic air young Londoners are exposed to, in a new scheme launched by the capital’s Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Weighing just over 1 kg, the sensors fit into lightweight bags and measure particulate matter, PM2.5 and PM10, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels.

The children will use the backpacks like a normal bag as the monitor takes up one pocket, leaving plenty of room for school equipment, allowing the monitors to record pollutant levels on each child’s journey to school and throughout the school day, including during their lessons.

The data from this will allow scientists from King’s College, London to analyze at which point of their journey to school, or which part of their school day, children are exposed to the most pollution.

They will also be able to compare the exposure of children who have similar journeys but take different routes and travel modes, and then make recommendations of how children can reduce their exposure in the future.(Xinhua)