Air quality affects all of us, yet it is often something we cannot see. For people living with asthma, heart disease and other health conditions, poor air quality can have a significant impact on daily life. That's why the Air Quality and Industrial Emissions team have been working on the Check air quality service – to help make trusted air quality information easier to find, understand and act upon.
Why we needed the service
This service is part of Defra’s work to improve public understanding of air pollution. It follows the government’s response to the death of 9-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, the first person in the world to have air pollution recorded as a cause of death.
Air quality affects everyone, but it can be difficult to understand. Most people do not spend their time thinking about air pollution forecasts, monitoring stations or pollutant measurements. What they want to know is simple: what is air quality like where I am, what does it mean for me, and do I need to do anything differently today?
This challenge sits at the heart of the project.
Putting users at the centre
As a content designer, my job is to make complex information simple, accessible and useful. Air quality is a particularly challenging topic because it combines science, health advice, environmental policy and technical data. We need to explain concepts like pollution forecasts, monitoring networks and health guidance in a way that people can understand quickly, especially when they are making decisions about their day.
From the beginning, the project has focused on understanding user needs. Research shows that people want information that's relevant to where they live, work or spend time. They want reliable data from a trusted source, clear explanations of what pollution levels mean and practical advice they can act on.
Iterate, test, discuss, repeat
We regularly test the service with the public to understand what works and what doesn't. Feedback consistently shows the importance of keeping information simple, reducing clutter and making the important stuff easy to find.
One of the most rewarding parts of the project has been developing the air pollution alerts. Users can select locations that matter to them, such as their home, workplace or local park, and receive alerts by text message or email when high levels of air pollution are forecast. This transforms air quality information from something people must search for into a service that proactively supports informed decision-making.
For citizens, the outcome is simple: trusted information, available in one place, when and where they need it.
Supporting Defra's wider goals
The Check air quality service is about much more than publishing information online.
It supports Defra's wider goal of improving the environment while helping people make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.
Alongside the Get air pollution data service, it also helps Defra be more transparent - by making government-held air quality information easier to access and understand. I’ll blog about this work soon.
What I've learned
This project is reinforcing something I have always believed about content design: good public services are not created by publishing more information.
They're created by understanding what people need and presenting the right information at the right time in a way that helps them achieve their goal.
The best feedback I heard during research wasn't about air quality science or technical features. It was when someone told us the service was "easy to use – does what it says on the tin". This has been a useful reminder throughout the project and influences many of the decisions we make.
The Check air quality service continues to evolve, and there's plenty more to do. But I'm proud of the role my team have played in helping make important public information more accessible, understandable and useful.
If you've used the service, I'd love to hear about your experience. What helped? What could be improved? Sharing your feedback helps us continue to build services that work for everyone.
More information
Steph Duits is a Senior Content Designer in the Air Quality and Industrial Emissions team in Defra Digital Data Technology and Security.
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