Environmental epidemiologist Ondřej Mikeš, from the Human Exposure and Risk Assessment group, is building on previous successful projects and launching another series of air pollution measurements in the city of Brno.
Over the past few weeks, Ondřej Mikeš, together with his students Simona Šatková and Jakub Dvořáček, installed new sensors at 35 selected locations in Brno. The locations were chosen based on traffic, urban, and population characteristics, after consulting Brno’s Department of Environment and the Technical Networks Brno.
The new sensors complement the existing reference monitoring stations and will continuously measure pollutant concentrations in the air over the next year. Thanks to their ability to distinguish four size fractions of particulate matter, they can better identify the source of pollution and assess the real risk to human health.
"The collected data will be used to develop Brno's digital twin. By integrating sensors, reference monitoring stations, meteorological data, and other variables, it will create a highly detailed spatiotemporal model of the city's air quality. The goal is to better understand air quality dynamics in Brno and more accurately describe the potential impact of air pollution on citizens and their health," outlines Ondřej Mikeš regarding the project's outputs.
The project will also serve as a pilot initiative for the practical application of data in planning a healthier urban environment. In collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture at BUT, the Faculty of Economics at MU, the Department of Transport, and the City Architect's Office, RECETOX researchers plan to use this data for a specific air quality analysis around selected schools in Brno and to evaluate potential measures to improve local conditions.
A key dimension of Ondřej Mikeš's work is the science-to-policy and science-to-citizens approach – translating scientific findings directly for local government representatives, policymakers, and the general public. These measurements represent another step in the RECETOX research centre's Brno Living Lab project, a living laboratory where connecting data, new technologies, expert groups, and citizen science contributes long-term to a cleaner, healthier environment for all residents.
This case study falls under the ongoing European project DTRIP4H-Digital Twins for Better Health, funded by the EU (No. 101188432).
