Air pollution in the United Kingdom has long been considered a significant health issue, and it causes numerous other environmental problems such as damage to buildings,[1][2] forests, and crops.[3] Many areas, including major cities like London, are found to be significantly and regularly above legal and recommended pollution levels.[4][5] Air pollution in the UK is a major cause of diseases such as asthma, lung disease, stroke, cancer, and heart disease, and is estimated to cause forty thousand premature deaths each year, which is about 8.3% of deaths, while costing around £40 billion each year.[6][7]
Air pollution is monitored and regulated. Air quality targets for particulates, nitrogen dioxide and ozone,[8] set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), are mostly aimed at local government representatives responsible for the management of air quality in cities, where air quality management is the most urgent. In 2017, research by the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change and the Royal College of Physicians revealed that air pollution levels in 44 cities in the UK are above the recommended World Health Organization guidelines.[9][10]
The UK government has plans to improve pollution due to traffic, and is banning the sale of new fossil fuel cars by 2030, and is phasing out the use of coal in its electrical power generation.
- ^ Brimblecombe, Peter (2003). The Effects Of Air Pollution On The Built Environment. World Scientific. ISBN 1783261366.
- ^ Brimblecombe, Peter; Grossi, Carlota M. (2010). "Potential Damage to Modern Building Materials from 21st Century Air Pollution". The Scientific World Journal. 10: 116–125. doi:10.1100/tsw.2010.17. PMC 5763901. PMID 20098955.
- ^ Emberson, Lisa; Ashmore, Mike; Murray, Frank (2003). Air Pollution Impacts on Crops and Forests: A Global Assessment. World Scientific. ISBN 9781860942921.
- ^ Powell, Tom (21 October 2017). "44 UK towns and cities have air 'too dangerous to breathe', report claims". Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "UK's most polluted towns and cities revealed". BBC News. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ Roberts, Michelle (23 February 2016). "Pollution link to 40,000 deaths a year". BBC News.
- ^ Silver, Katie (20 October 2017). "Pollution linked to one in six deaths". BBC News.
- ^ "National air quality objectives" (PDF). uk-air.defra.gov.uk.
- ^ "Air in 44 UK cities and towns too dangerous to breathe, UN pollution report finds". Archived from the original on 2017-10-31.
- ^ "RCP and Lancet Countdown: New research on health and climate". Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-29.