Since the coronavirus lockdown began, air pollution over London’s busiest roads has fallen by nearly 50%.
Although life in lockdown isn’t exactly how we pictured 2020, there are many environmental benefits to us all being inside. Not only have animals been roaming city streets, but Londoners have also seen huge improvements in air quality.
Fortunately the drop in nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)—a harmful gas produced as a result of road traffic, amongst other things—had already started, thanks to anti-pollution measures introduced in 2017. So we were already witnessing a 35% decrease across the capital—and up to 44% in London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone.
But over the last four weeks, since the UK lockdown started, levels of this harmful gas have dropped even more significantly, especially in some of the worst pollution areas. They’ve fallen by a further 27% across the city, and by nearly half in usual hotspots.
Figures released by the Mayor of London show that levels of NO₂ have fallen by a daily average of 40%. Oxford Street, for example, has seen a reduction of 47%.
Although London Mayor Sadiq Khan is pleased with these figures, he said in a social media post on Thursday (April 23) that: “the UK needs urgent action from the Government to tackle it in the long term. When this crisis ends, they must help make the UK cleaner and greener for everyone”.
It’s important to note that the reduction in NO₂ doesn’t remove the threat of air pollution by any means. The figures also show that particulate pollution, which mostly comes from domestic wood burning and agriculture, is still very present, and is very harmful to humans. So, although one pollutant has decreased, others remain a large problem.
See also: 5 Ways The UK Lockdown Has Had A Positive Impact On Our Environment