Pollution Levels Broke Legal Limits Across London in 2021
According to a new analysis by the Clean Cities Campaign, nitrogen dioxide levels exceeded regulatory limits in London in 2021, with pollution hotspots recording air pollution levels 50 per cent higher than the permissible limit.
The UK and EU were required to meet legal nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limits by 2010 at the latest.
Using the most recent data, the researchers determined that 15 of 73 air pollution monitors in London reported levels over legal limits, and none of the monitors met the most recent World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.
Brixton Road in Lambeth and Putney High Street in Wandsworth had the highest levels of NO2, followed by Cromwell Road in Kingston upon Thames.
Ealing, Camden, City of London, Brent, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Sutton, Waltham Forest, and the City of Westminster were also found to have illegal levels of NO2.
Oliver Lord, UK Head of Clean Cities Campaign, said:
"If this isn’t a wake-up call then I don’t know what is. These limits were meant to be met 12 years ago, and when that eventually happens, they are still four times the World Health Organisation guidelines. We need greater certainty that London is on track to phase out toxic diesel fumes. The Ultra-Low Emission Zone must be expanded without delay, and the Mayor’s plans for a central London zero-emission zone need to be expedited. There is no time to waste"
Source: Air Quality News
