New statistics released by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan demonstrate the impact on air quality of reduced road traffic, which has halved since the start of the current pandemic.
The data shows that central London roadside locations have experienced a fall in daily average NO2 of around 40%, while on Oxford Street the figure rises to 47%.

“London has one of the most advanced air quality monitoring networks in the world, which has recorded how the Coronavirus lockdown has dramatically improved air quality in London,” said the Mayor.

“But this cleaner air should not just be temporary,” he emphasised. “Once the current emergency has passed and we start to recover, our challenge will be to eradicate air pollution permanently.”

Reductions in NO2 since Coronavirus come on top of air quality improvements already brought about through the Ultra Low Emission Zone in recent years.

King’s College London senior lecturer in air pollution measurement Dr Gary Fuller commented: “Even before the Covid lockdown, London’s air pollution was undergoing a dramatic change for the better. Nitrogen dioxide in central London and along main bus routes was improving at some of the fastest rates we’ve ever measured.

“We need to remember these lessons going forward. These successes show that our city’s air pollution is not an intractable problem and that actions can bring results.”

Further cities across the UK are likely to have seen similarly dramatic reductions in air pollution due to a drop off in the number of vehicles on the roads since the start of lockdown.

Portsmouth City Council’s assistant director of transport Pam Turton told a webinar event last week that the south coast city is experiencing around a third of its usual traffic levels, which has brought its air quality within legal limits. She said that prior to the pandemic the city faced significant pollution issues, and plans are developing to introduce a clean air charging zone.

She added: “We are now in a position where we are able to reimagine and experience the local road network in a way that we never have done previously,” suggesting that the sector should take advantage of the opportunity to promote more sustainable travel.

(Photograph: Lana Elcova - Shutterstock)