Capital’s air pollution on a par with Beijing
SMOGGY DAY PUTS LONDON IN LINE WITH THE WORLD’S MOST POLLUTED CITY
IF you ventured beyond your house on Wednesday last week, you might have coughed several times on first impact with the outdoors.
The air in London that morning (February 27) was particularly polluted.
It was so polluted, people could be forgiven for having mistaken the lingering grey clouds for fog or mist.
The Financial Times has reported that the air in London was actually so dirty that it was on a par with a usual day in Beijing, one of the most polluted capital cities in the world.
Air pollution rating app AirVisual publishes the Air Quality Rankings (AQIs), which are used by government agencies to communicate to the public how much pollution is in the air.
A good AQI rating is between 0 and 50, a moderate one reads between 51 and 100 and anything over 100 could cause moderate to severe health risks to the public.
According to the app, London’s rating on Wednesday was 77, but levels of pollution in central areas such as Euston Road and New Cross have hit a rating of over 150.
Sadiq Khan issued a high pollution alert, making it the 10th time the air quality alert system has been used since he became mayor in 2016.
A spokesperson for the mayor said: “The high levels of pollution expected over the next few days is evidence of the scale of London’s air quality crisis and is exactly why the mayor is taking hardhitting measures to clean it up.
“April’s launch of the world’s first ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) in cen- tral London is expected to reduce harmful emissions in the zone by around 45%.
“The mayor is also cleaning up the capital’s bus and taxi fleets, rolling out rapid charging infrastructure and delivering improvements to schools in some of London’s most polluted areas.”
The mayor’s office has explained the cause of the high levels, saying a combination of “poorly dispersed local emissions” (basically a lack of wind means air pollution is not being broken up with fresh air) and “particulates” (matter formed of tiny separate particles) blowing in from Germany and France are to blame for the fog.
Aside from being pretty unpleasant, the pollution comes with a set of health risks for some Londoners.
The government’s committee on the medical effects of air pollutants has advised that adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, should avoid strenuous exercise, especially outdoors.
People with asthma may find they need to use their inhaler more often, and anyone experiencing discomfort such as sore eyes, a cough or sore throat should consider reducing outdoor activity.