On behalf of the Scottish Government, and as part of the Scottish Air Quality Database (SAQD) project, Ricardo provide mapped concentrations of pollutants for Scotland. The most recent maps are for the year 2022 and provide representation of the spatial distribution of background and roadside annual mean concentrations for:
- gravimetric equivalent PM10 concentration (PM10)
- gravimetric equivalent PM2.5 concentration (PM2.5)
- NOx and NO2
Background concentrations are mapped at a spatial resolution of 1 km2 (1 km x 1 km grid) and roadside concentrations are mapped for urban major road links throughout Scotland.
The methodology for the Scottish modelling is based on the UK Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) approach. The modelling used to produce the Scottish pollutant concentration maps incorporates exclusively Scottish pollutant measurement data, meteorological data from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and spatially disaggregated emissions information from the UK's National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI).
The latest modelling results and maps of the modelled air pollutant concentrations for 2022 are provided in the most recent technical report. This report has been published as a webpage and includes interactive elements (e.g. some tables and maps) to enhance the presentation of the report content. The maps can also be viewed using the interactive tool below.
Projected background annual mean maps of NOx, NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 have been calculated for the years 2021 to 2040, from a base year of 2021. The projected maps are available to download from the Data for Local Authority Review and Assessment purposes page. These were produced using the Scottish-specific model using Scottish measurement data and meteorological data from the WRF model.
Interactive ambient air quality map
The interactive tool below, allows you to explore the ambient air quality concentration data from the Scottish Government’s Pollution Climate Mapping modelling (as described above), from 2019 to the most recent model year. Using the drop-down menus in the toolbar, the tool allows the user to switch between background and roadside maps for NOX, NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 (available from 2020). Use the transparency slider to change the transparency level of the data layer currently shown on the map. For the roadside data, it may be beneficial to move the transparency slider further to the right to make the lines more visible. The map layers can be clicked (when zoomed in to a sufficient level) to return the concentration of each pollutant in a table below the map, for the selected year, at the point of the click. If more than one row of data is returned, the point selected either spanned more than one grid square (for the background map) or more than one road (for the roadside map); zoom in further and click again to select one grid square/road.