Significant fall in London's air pollution reported

Air quality in some of London’s worst pollution hotspots has significantly improved since 2016 when Sadiq Khan began to implement clean air policies.

The figures reveal that during 2016, London’s air exceeded the hourly legal limit for nitrogen dioxide for over 4,000 hours. Last year, this fell to just over 100 hours – a reduction of 97 per cent.

Between 2004 to 2017 London breached the permitted number of exceedances for NO2 within the first week of the year. In 2019 only one site breached and it did not occur until July.

Significant NO2 reductions have occurred where Sadiq has introduced Low Emission Bus Zones – areas where only buses that meet the cleanest emission standards can operate:

At Putney High Street in Wandsworth, NO2 levels have stayed within legal limits so far this year, compared to 1,279 hours of illegal levels in 2016.

At Brixton Road in Lambeth NO2 levels remained within legal limits for the entirety of 2019 and so far this year, compared to 530 hours above the legal limit in 2016. In 2017, this site saw London’s first breach of annual pollution limits just five days into the new year, and in 2018 it occurred within a month.

On Oxford Street in Westminster, NO2 exceeded legal limits for 168 hours in 2016. In 2019 monitors did not record a single hour above legal limits. However, there is also an annual average legal limit which Oxford Street did not meet, which is why further action is needed.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Toxic air is a national health crisis contributing to thousands of premature deaths ever year. I have taken bold action in London with measures such as the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone and Low Emission Bus Zones, and it’s undeniable that these are making a difference to the air we breathe.

“We’re doing all we can in the capital, with proven results, so there are no excuses left for the Government’s failure to match our levels of ambition.”