Touring the History of Air Pollution – with Air Quality Stripes

Guided by the striking Air Quality Stripes - simple, coloured graphics that show how particulate matter pollution has changed over time - this event will take audiences on a visual journey through the history of air pollution. These stripes, which have received significant media attention (including in The Guardian), turn complex data into powerful, accessible imagery.

The data for the air quality stripes is taken from a combination of satellite data and data from the UK Earth System Model, which simulates atmospheric processes and pollution transport on a global scale. The data was processed by EPCC staff to create a historical dataset of environmental pollution from 1850-2022 in 173 cities around the globe.

But this isn’t just a story about data - it’s a story about people and how we change the environment around us. In the talk, we’ll explore how historical events, political shifts, industrialisation, and environmental policy have shaped global air pollution. We'll trace the impact of these changes on cities and pollution, hopefully better understanding the past can help us make sense of today’s environmental challenges.

The project has also sparked a burst of creativity at EPCC. A team of talented knitters (Lucy Norris, Kathleen Glass, Clair Barass, and Jo Beech-Brandt) has brought the Air Quality Stripes into the world of craft. So far they've created a beautiful friendship bracelet showing the improving air quality in Edinburgh (shown in the photo above), and a scarf depicting the worsening pollution in Jakarta, Indonesia. (More challengingly, they are also attempting to teach me to knit!)

We’re excited to share how data, storytelling, and a bit of yarn can come together to reveal the global story of our changing skies.

Further information

Air Quality Stripes event at the Edinburgh Science Festival: Tue 8 Apr 2025: Bayes Centre, Room G.03, University of Edinburgh