Polluted city hotspots pass air quality tests ‘ for the first time’
BUSY streets in Glasgow have passed air pollution tests for the first time, a c c o r d i n g t o environmental campaigners. Friends of the Earth Scotland analysed official air pollution data for 2022 showing a reduction in pollutants on pollution hotspots that are monitored.
It found 2022 was the first year that Glasgow did not breach air pollution limits, excluding the impact of lockdowns in 2020.
In 2021, Hope Street, which is still the most polluted street in the country, recorded an annual average above the legal limit for diesel pollution, but has seen one of the biggest improvements this year. The European Ambient Air Quality Directive set a limit for Nitrogen Dioxide ( NO2) of 40 micrograms per cubic metre.
Monitoring spots in the city found Hope Street was at 39.24. Others include Byres Road, which had 27.53, Dumbarton Road was 26.12, Nithsdale Road scored 21.98, Anderston was 21.5, High Street had 20.96 and Great Western Road scored 19.75.
The Scottish annual statutory standard for particulate matter ( PM10) is 18 micrograms per cubic metre. All the above spots were below the target.
Campaigners said initiatives like the Low Emission Zone were having an impact.
Gavin Thomson, transport campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Air pollution from transport is responsible for thousands of premature deaths in Scotland every year, and causes serious heart and lung issues, so it’s great that progress is being made to improve some of our most polluted streets in Glasgow. The provisional data show that the Low Emission Zones and the Scottish Government’s hefty subsidies for operators to buy new buses are having an immediate impact. “People in Glasgow can breathe a little easier as a result of the Low Emission Zone and changes to traffic being brought in. The buses along Hope Street these days are often electric, which are better for the climate and for our lungs.” Angus Millar, convener for climate and transport, said: “The reduction in pollution levels observed in the provisional data indicates that positive progress is being made in Glasgow.
“Whilst this is welcome news, these results must be treated with caution until appropriately ratified and published in our Air Quality Annual Progress Report.
“It is likely that a large part of the indicated drop in air pollution levels will be due to the improvement in emissions from the city’s bus fleet given the introduction of the first phase of Glasgow’s LEZ in 2018.
“From the start of 2022, a minimum of 80% of bus movements through the city centre were required to meet the LEZ emission standards, with many more exceeding this as bus operators have also increased the number of zero emissions vehicles in their fleets.”