New widget added to the Analysis Library. This allows you to rapidly identify high-pollution days and their primary pollutant sources against EU Standards.
Please note: In our daily air quality heat maps, you can use the EU or the DEFRA AQI health thresholds based on hourly AQI measurements. For each day, hourly AQI values are assessed, and the highest hourly AQI reading is selected to represent that day’s value. This is shown on the top row of the chart. This ensures that the daily AQI reflects the worst air quality conditions experienced during the day, providing a clear and consistent measure for comparison across different days and locations. Please note: This changes if you Analsye 8hr or Day Avergages. Please see guidance below.
Enjoy!
EU Heatmap Widget
By introducing EU AQI–based heat maps, you will be able to:
- Rapidly identify high-pollution days and their primary pollutant sources.
- Benchmark local air quality against EU health standards in a transparent way.
- Use visual evidence to support community engagement, compliance reporting, and resource prioritisation.
- Additional AQI’s will follow in due course.
Where to find EU Heatmaps
In MyAir navigate to the Analysis section
Note the “New” icon just below the saved/load view buttons in the top right hand corner.
Pressing this will open the “Widget Library”
Currently the EU Heatmap Widget is at the top of the menu for easy use (this may change over time)
A new widget will be loaded into your Analsyis section Please note: You will need to “run analysis” again to load the correct data in the EU Heatmap
EU Heatmap allows you to…
- Quickly identify high-pollution days and the pollutants driving the exceedance.
- Provide clear, evidence-based insights to councillors, public health directors, and community groups.
- Benchmark local air quality against EU standards and demonstrate compliance or areas of concern.
- NO2, o2, PM10 and PM2.5 are available for analysis
This helps by:
- Current pollutant concentration data is complex and time-consuming to analyse. This is quick and easy
- Difficult to clearly communicate findings to non-technical audiences. This makes it very easy to visualise
Key benefits of EU Heatmaps:
- Intuitive visualisation of daily AQI and corresponding pollutants.
- AQI bands based on EU AQI for consistency and regulatory alignment.
- Exportable format as JPEG for easy onward reporting and presentation use.
- Adaptive time periods, with flexible views from 1 week to 1 year.
Understanding the Heatmap: Daily AQI Values
The Heatmap provides a quick visual overview of air quality patterns across days.
Each cell represents a single day, coloured according to the Air Quality Index (AQI).
How Time Averages Affect the Heatmap
The Heatmap displays AQI values based on the time average you select. The available options typically include:
- 1-hour average
- 8-hour rolling average
- Daily average
What the Heatmap Shows
For each day, the Heatmap highlights the highest AQI value recorded for the selected time average.
For example:
- If 1-hour is selected, the Heatmap shows the worst 1-hour AQI that occurred that day.
- If 8-hour is selected, it shows the highest 8-hour rolling average for that day.
- If Daily is selected, it shows that day’s overall daily average AQI.
This approach ensures you see the peak exposure level for the chosen averaging period, helping you understand both short-term peaks and longer-term conditions.
Enjoy!