LAUSD unveils air quality monitoring network using sensors at 200 school locations

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest in the nation, is now home to the country's largest school-based air monitoring network.

The Know Your Air Network is made up of sensors installed at 200 school locations across the district's 710-square-mile footprint. It allows students, families, and school communities to assess their local air quality in real time, online.

Local officials embarked on the air monitoring project as a way to reduce air pollution, LAUSD board Vice President Nick Melvoin said. But since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic monitoring air quality has taken on new urgency.

"While the world has changed in unthinkable ways since I first proposed this initiative, our commitment to providing the safest possible learning environment for our kids has remained steadfast," Melvoin said in a statement.

The air sensors take a measurement of fine particulate matter in the air every six minutes. The networks detect smog, exhaust, industrial emissions, smoke and dust. The sensors have been installed so each school in the district has one within a 1.6-mile radius.

Data from the network will be used during emergencies, such as brush fires, so district officials can respond accordingly to protect students. The data will also be used for research projects.

The real-time data can be accessed online on the LAUSD website or through the AirVisual mobile app.