London Pollution, blame the wind, not the cars
Wind is more responsible for Pollution than Cars in London. When wind comes from Mainland Europe or The North, pollution is 2x that of when it coms from the Atlantic or West Europe. Fortunately 64% of London’s wind comes from the Atlantic or West Europe when PM2.5 averages 6.1. The overall average is 7.1 for the year to 15th March but the 10th March saw a PM2.5 of 72, equivalent to smoking 2.5 cigarettes Air Quality News.
PM2.5 refers to tiny airborne particles (2.5 micrometers or smaller) that can penetrate deep into lungs and enter the bloodstream. These particles come from sources like vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, and wildfires.
Health impacts include respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems, and increased mortality risk. In 2021, the WHO tightened its safety guidelines, recommending annual PM2.5 exposure not exceed 5 μg/m³ (down from 10 μg/m³) and 24-hour exposure stay below 15 μg/m³ (down from 25 μg/m³), based on evidence that even lower levels can harm health.
PM2.5 = 72 on 10th March, this was due to wind coming from the North East and is thought to be equivalent to smoking 2.5 cigarettes. These fluctuations typically occur due to wind and what is happening where that wind is coming from. PM2.5 was over 30 from around 9th March to the 11th March.
I walked across London Bridge on my way to work wearing a £3 mask and didn’t see a single person doing similar, this suggested that that no-one is aware.
On 12th March the wind direction changed and started coming from the Atlantic and PM2.5 dropped below 4, this confirmed, to me, that pollution is related to the wind rather than what we do in London.
A week earlier, the Guardian published this article praising the ULEZ policy within London.
Whilst I completely agree that we need to reduce our emissions, the simple fact is that we can’t control Londons pollution unless we can prevent the wind from coming from places that are polluted.
We are all part of an air community spanning 1000’s of miles, if not the whole world. We are responsible for each others air and need to work together to ensure we are not pollution each other.
It is not as simple as reducing emissions where we are in order to have better air.
The dashboard below shows the information for the above, it refreshes every hour from a pollution monitor in Honor Oak Park in London which is close to where I live. It provides a good guideline to what the pollution is across London as local variations are not as significant as you may think.
A great resource to check out PM2.5 where you are is provided by IQAir, you can input your location and see what PM2.5 is. It also provides a great animated view of Wind used in the main image of this post. And finally they have an an IQAir app which makes it easy to see the air where you are and to get notifications.
