Clean air: infographics and facts

What is it? Air pollution is gases and dust particles inthe air (so both solids and gases). The airpollution that most affects our health inthe UK is nitrogen dioxide (NOx) andParticulate Matter (called PM2.5 andPM10). Air pollution can damage humans,animals, plants and buildings.

Why is it a problem? Air pollution leads to many healthproblems and is linked to 40,000premature deaths in the UK each year. Itaffects three core areas of the body:lungs, heart and head, and has othereffects too. Children can suffer from reduced lungdevelopment if they live or go to school inareas with higher air pollution in the UK.Air pollution can also lead to reducedbrain development in small children.

Some of the same health problems will befelt by animals like our pets. Air pollutionaffects plant and tree growth. Nitrogendioxide is linked to acid rain whichdamages plants, trees and buildings.Buildings in polluted areas can also end upwith more black soot on them, meaningwe have to clean our windows more often.

What causes air pollution? Across the UK, traffic is a major cause of airpollution, especially the gas nitrogendioxide. This comes from diesel and petrolengines, with diesels being worse. Eventhough bigger vehicles (e.g. buses andlorries) produce slightly more of the gas,when you have lots of cars on the road thiscan cause a bigger proportion of the airpollution. Is it better to have 76 cars drivingto the shops, or one bus? The bus isdefinitely not producing 76 times morepollution! Particulate Matter (PM) is also caused bytraffic – some coming out of the engine, butalso from the friction of tyres on the road,brakes etc. PM and other air pollutants alsocome from other sources like wood burningstoves and some types of industry.

Why is it worse in some areas? Air pollution is caused by a combination offactors. The first is how much air pollutionis being emitted: how busy is the road, arethere lots of fires nearby etc. However,the level of air pollution can also dependon how much the air is circulated or wherethe wind takes polluted air. So higher, windier places will tend to have lesspollution, but low-lying places, or narrowroads with very tall buildings may haveworse pollution. As a rule of thumb, if youcan see lots of vehicles then the air insidethe cars and on the pavement is probablynot great. In the UK, we only rarely have extremelyhigh levels of air pollution, but this iscommon in other countries especially inChina and India. However, we are notperfect either. Even though our levelsmight not get as high as some Chinesecities, we have a chronic low level problemin many UK cities and towns which still hasthe long term health impacts that causepeople to have more illnesses and dieearlier. Currently, we are breaking the lawbecause we pollute too much!

FACT SHEETAir pollution and carbonemissions

How can we protect ourselves? Here are just a few ideas. Ask your studentsto come up with their own suggestions. Reduce the causes How can we use cars less? Can we walk,cycle, bus or scoot around and play inplaces nearby so we don’t need to use carsas much? Could your school run a “NoIdling” campaign for drop-off times? Avoid busy roads Walking on smaller, quieter roads orthrough parks will significantly reduce theamount of pollutants you breathe in. Stop idling and drive carefully Even inside a car, you are still breathing inpolluted air. In other words, you are no lessprotected than if you were walking orcycling. By switching off the engine when

Hang on, what about carbonemissions? For many people living in European cities,climate change doesn't appear to impactthem. They might think our house isn'tburning yet. Air pollution overcomes thisdisconnect as it is local and immediate.Thus, focusing campaigns on air pollutionreduction could do more to tackle climatechange than climate change campaigningin and of itself. Air pollution differs from greenhouse gas emissions in that it consists of short-termpollutants that persist for just a fewweeks. However, its sources are the same.

For example, the transport sector is thefastest growing contributor to emissionsand accounts for almost ¼ of all CO₂emissions (a long-lived pollutant). It is also a significant contributor to airpollution, particularly in cities, through theproduction of short-lived NOx and PM10,such as black carbon, or soot. CO₂ is the most common greenhouse gas, socalled as they trap heat in the planet,warming it like a greenhouse! This heatingis leading to biodiversity decline, sea levelrise and extreme weather, like droughtsand heatwaves, that cause crops to fail andincrease the likelihood of forest fires. Despite being short-lived, black carbon isthe second highest contributor to globalheating, after CO₂. Diesel transport (alongwith household wood burners) is one of theworld’s major sources of black carbon. Both issues interrelate. Ground-level ozonepollution, produced when fossil fuelpollutants react with ultraviolet light, is onthe rise and will worsen as temperaturesrise with climate change.

FACT SHEETAir pollution and carbonemissions

possible and avoiding strong accelerationand braking, you are reducing the amountof air pollution you are creating. Get talking Spread awareness of the issue. Speak tochildren and young people, politicians,neighbours, parents, businesses... we canall play our part in tackling this problemtogether so no one is left behind.

For more information:

www.claircity.eu