Welsh cities are failing to meet WHO standards for air pollution
Published: 2 May 2018
Air pollution data revealed today (01/05/18) shows that three Welsh cities and two Welsh towns are at or over World Health Organisation (WHO) standards for fine particle air pollution (PM2.5).
Cardiff, Chepstow, Newport, Port Talbot and Swansea are all failing WHO standards for PM2.5 pollution.
Friends of the Earth is calling for the UK to adhere to WHO standards for air pollution.
While the expansion of the WHO’s air quality database shows an increasing awareness of the public health crisis that is air pollution, it also further highlights that much more needs to be done to clean up the air we breathe, and fast.
Air pollution from particulates can cause lung cancer, and worsen heart and lung disease. Research has found there is no safe limit of exposure. The WHO air pollution database also only tells part of the story, as it does not include figures on the deadly nitrogen dioxide gas which is also polluting our air and harming our health.
Jenny Bates, Friends of the Earth air pollution campaigner, said:
“As more air quality data becomes available, we are uncovering a deeply concerning number of places across the UK with dangerously polluted air. This demonstrates the need for further research, for us to properly understand and improve the state of air pollution across the UK.
“There is no such thing as a safe level of air pollution, though years of government complacency suggests they think otherwise.
“For the health and wellbeing of everyone, we need the forthcoming Air Quality Strategy to take a decisive stance and address air pollution from all sources. We need to see measures including a stronger national network of Clean Air Zones, a diesel scrappage scheme and investment in walking, cycling and public transport to enable as many car-free journeys as possible.”
The WHO air quality standard for PM2.5 is an annual average of 10 micrograms per cubic metre. The following UK towns and cities from the WHO database are at or over this level. *
- Armagh
- Biandrate
- Birmingham
- Brighton
- Bristol
- Cardiff
- Carlisle
- Chepstow
- Coventry
- Eastbourne
- Eccles
- Gibraltar
- Gillingham
- Grays
- Harlington
- Hull
- Leeds
- Leicester
- Liverpool
- London
- Londonderry
- Manchester
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
- Newport
- Norwich
- Nottingham
- Oxford
- Plymouth
- Port Talbot
- Portsmouth
- Preston
- Prestonpans
- Royal Leamington Spa
- Salford
- Saltash
- Sandy
- Scunthorpe
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Southend-On-Sea
- Stanford-Le-Hope
- Stockton-On-Tees
- Stoke-On-Trent
- Storrington
- Swansea
- Thurrock
- Wigan
- York
*the locations above have been taken directly from the WHO database, which has rounded the PM2.5 figures to the nearest whole number