photo:luis tejero

The Great Smog of 1952, caused by smoke from coal fires in the UK capital, killed thousands of Londoners. This led to the UK adopting the Clean Air Act in 1956 which allowed the UK to overcome the crisis by restricting the use of coal in household fires. This ground-breaking legislation showed that the law can be used to protect the environment and people’s lives. Today, 4,300 people die in London every year because of air pollution caused by traffic fumes.

ClientEarth is working so that the law can protect against air pollution once again.
The UK and EU set legally binding limits on levels of air pollutantion based on World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. One or more of these limits has been broken in London in every year since they came into effect in 2005.

Pollution from road traffic, and particularly from diesel fumes, is the most significant cause of London’s poor air quality. The two pollutants of most concern are microscopic airborne particles, known as PM10, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) - a toxic gas.

Particulate Matter (PM10) is made up of tiny non-gaseous particles suspended in the air. Those smaller than 10 micrometres (a micrometre is one millionth of a metre) are referred to as PM10. Within this fraction, particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less (PM2.5) pose the greatest threat to human health.

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is a gas that forms other air pollutants like PM10 and ozone. It is caused by road traffic and other combustion of fossil fuels. NO2 is associated with increased mortality rates. NO2 also causes acid rain which has adverse affects on human health as well as destroying vegetation and crops.

To find out about ClientEarth’s work on air pollution click here

ClientEarth supports the Healthy Air campaign. Click here to find out more.