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Brixton Road breaches annual air pollution limit in five days | Brixton Road breaches annual air pollution limit in five days |
(35 minutes later) | |
A south London road has breached its annual air pollution limit for 2017 in just five days. | A south London road has breached its annual air pollution limit for 2017 in just five days. |
Readings taken in Brixton Road found levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), linked to nearly 5,900 early deaths a year, repeatedly breached the EU limit. | Readings taken in Brixton Road found levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), linked to nearly 5,900 early deaths a year, repeatedly breached the EU limit. |
King's College London, which runs the air quality monitoring stations, said some London streets have the highest levels of NO2 exposure in the world. | King's College London, which runs the air quality monitoring stations, said some London streets have the highest levels of NO2 exposure in the world. |
Oxford Street, Kings Road and the Strand are other pollution hotspots. | Oxford Street, Kings Road and the Strand are other pollution hotspots. |
Under EU law hourly levels of NO2, mostly caused by diesel vehicles, must not exceed 200 micrograms per cubic metre more than 18 times in a year. | Under EU law hourly levels of NO2, mostly caused by diesel vehicles, must not exceed 200 micrograms per cubic metre more than 18 times in a year. |
On 5 January Brixton Road had exceeded this annual limit by 17 hours, according to the London Air Quality Network at King's College London. | On 5 January Brixton Road had exceeded this annual limit by 17 hours, according to the London Air Quality Network at King's College London. |
At one point NO2 levels were nearly double the legal limit. | At one point NO2 levels were nearly double the legal limit. |
Putney High Street, which was the first London road to exceed its legal limit last year, went on to exceed the hourly limit more than 1,100 times in 2016. | |
The news has come on the day Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced 10 new low emission bus zones in the capital. | The news has come on the day Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced 10 new low emission bus zones in the capital. |
The new routes bring the total number of Low Emission Zones planned to 12, including previously announced zones in Putney High Street and Brixton. | The new routes bring the total number of Low Emission Zones planned to 12, including previously announced zones in Putney High Street and Brixton. |
The mayor has pledged to double funding to tackle air pollution to £875m over five years. | The mayor has pledged to double funding to tackle air pollution to £875m over five years. |
But Caroline Russell, who represents the Green Party on the London Assembly, said the plans were "just not enough". | But Caroline Russell, who represents the Green Party on the London Assembly, said the plans were "just not enough". |
"Too many people have had their lives shortened, their asthma and other respiratory problems worsened and their quality of life reduced as a result of weak mayoral policies and government inaction," she said. | "Too many people have had their lives shortened, their asthma and other respiratory problems worsened and their quality of life reduced as a result of weak mayoral policies and government inaction," she said. |
In April a committee of MPs called air pollution in the UK a "public health emergency". | In April a committee of MPs called air pollution in the UK a "public health emergency". |
This week a study suggested as many as 11% of cases of dementia in people living near busy roads could be linked to air pollution. | This week a study suggested as many as 11% of cases of dementia in people living near busy roads could be linked to air pollution. |