London is a city that is cosmopolitan as much as it is multi-cultural, but when it comes to cleanliness of its surroundings, well, let’s just say that there are other cities which would provide your lungs with far better quality air. It looks like pigeons in London, or if you prefer to refer to them as “rats with wings”, are said to be equipped with extremely small backbacks as part of an effort to monitor the air quality in the city itself.
Makes plenty of sense, really, as London has far more than enough pigeons to go around, and their excrement do nothing but to aid in the spread of disease. French firm Plume Labs has decided to do something about the situation, as they equipped ten racing pigeons in order to help out in the monitoring of pollution levels in London.
Romain Lacombe, chief executive of Plume Labs, shared, “Air pollution is a huge environmental health issue, killing nearly 10,000 people every year in London alone. Putting air sensors on the back of pigeons goes beyond raising awareness of this problem and helps Londoners understand the impact of pollution in an accessible, tangible and immediate way.”
These small backpacks come with the ability to monitor nitrogen dioxide, ozone and volatile compounds, and for animal lovers, a veterinarian has been hired to make sure that the 25 gram backpacks on the pigeons will not be a burden to them. Best of all is, our feathered friends will never go on strike.