GLASGOW has been named one of the UK’s most polluted cities, according to the World Health Organisation.
Scotland’s biggest city was found to have a higher concentration of dangerous sooty particles than London, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham.
It comes after the city’s Hope Street was found to be in breach of the European legal limit for nitrogen dioxide earlier this year, as it was branded the most polluted road in the UK.
Out of 51 UK cities and towns listed in an air quality database, 44 fail the WHO’s test for fine sooty particles smaller than 2.5 microns across that have been linked to heart disease and premature death.
Exposure to the particles, known as PM2.5s, should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic metre of air, according to the health organisation.
But in numerous British population centres annual average levels are higher – sometimes by a significant degree.
Glasgow emerged as one of the polluted cities, with a PM2.5s concentration of 16 micrograms per cubic metre.
London and Leeds both had 15 micrograms of the particles in every cubic metre-sized parcel of air, Cardiff and Birmingham 14, and Manchester 13.
Perhaps surprisingly, the seaside resort of Eastbourne and port city of Southampton equalled London’s exposure level, while the dreaming spires of Oxford were surrounded by air as polluted by fine particles as Cardiff.
Each year, outdoor air pollution is estimated to cause 40,000 premature deaths in the UK – up to 9,000 in London alone – and cost the country £22.6 billion.
Dr Toby Hillman, one of the report’s authors from the Royal College of Physicians, said: “There isn’t a safe limit for the amount of pollution that’s been defined as yet and we know the effects of poor air quality run from cradle to grave; it’s a lifetime threat to human health.
“This is a really direct and tangible impact on UK health from the drivers of climate change, and taking action on air quality should be a priority.”
The impact of air pollution in UK cities forms part of a major investigation looking at the health and social costs of climate change around the world led by a top medical journal.
The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change brought together 24 institutions and inter-governmental organisations including the WHO and World Meteorological Organisation.
It found that global exposure to dangerous levels of air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels had increased by 11.2% since 1990 with more than 70% of cities exceeding WHO PM2.5 limits.
Many British cities and towns also broke the WHO limits for PM10s, slightly larger sooty specks considered less of a hazard than ultra-fine particles but still harmful to health.
The authors acknowledged that European Union air quality guidelines were far less stringent than those of the WHO, with an upper safety limit for PM2.5s of 25 micrograms per cubic metre.
However, they said the WHO limits represented a “safer threshold”.
The report added that 802 London schools and a high proportion of the capital’s hospitals and clinics were located in highly polluted areas “potentially putting some of society’s most vulnerable people at risk”.
Diesel-powered vehicles, which generate pollution particles, were one of the “key drivers” of poor air quality in towns and cities in the UK, said Dr Hillman.
“Unfortunately previous policies about encouraging diesel adoption have led to an increase in the amount of diesel related pollution,” he said.
In a “briefing for UK policymakers” the report called for the expansion of Clean Air Zones nationwide and wider introduction of measures similar to London’s new T-charge, which imposes a levy on drivers of the most polluting vehicles.
The report pointed out that between 2000 and 2016 there had been a 46% increase in the number of weather-related disasters around the world. During the same period of time 125 million vulnerable adults over the age of 65 had been exposed to heatwaves.
In addition, climate change had increased the threat from mosquito-borne infectious diseases.
Transmission of dengue fever by the Aedes agypti mosquito had increased by 9.4% since 1950.
Professor Hugh Montgomery, co-chair of The Lancet Countdown and director of the Institute for Human Health and Performance at University College London, said: “We are only just beginning to feel the impacts of climate change.
“Any small amount of resilience we may take for granted today will be stretched to breaking point sooner than we may imagine.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article