Where’s the Shard gone? How smog engulfed the South
A THICK cloud of toxic smog sparked a health alert yesterday as swathes of Britain were coated with Saharan dust.
On the hottest day of the year so far, people with lung and heart conditions were warned against exercising outside.
The haze hung over London, and the south coast was particularly badly hit – with cyclists in Brighton seen wearing face masks to protect their lungs.
One Londoner posted a picture of the pollution- covered city on Twitter, writing: ‘Canary Wharf seems to have been vanished.’ Another user said: ‘London – your stupid polluted smog has ruined my sunny day off today.’
Dr Sotiris Vardoulakis, head of air pollution at Public Health England’s Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, warned the cloud could pose a risk to people with health problems.
‘While most people will not be affected by short term peaks in air pollution, some individuals, particularly those with existing heart or lung conditions, may experience increased symptoms,’ he said.
Atlantic winds were expected to disperse the dirty air by today, making it feel much fresher. Met Office spokesman Dan Wil- liams said: ‘There will be a change of wind direction and [it will] become breezier, which will take all that pollution away.’
Yesterday was the hottest day of 2015 so far in parts of the UK. St James’s Park in London reached 21.9C (71.4F), while at Heathrow Airport it was 21.3C (70.3F).
The unseasonably warm weather will be replaced with cooler air for the Grand National and Boat Race today – with temperatures expected to peak at 15C (59F).
Met Office meteorologist Charles Powell said today’s weather may be a shock to the system after a week of warmth. He added: ‘It’s not that it’s going to be particularly cold, it’s just returning to nearer normal after a week of temperatures being above average, so it will feel slightly colder.’