For the first time in a decade, London’s air quality is within legal limits in January.
Every year for the last 10 years, London broke the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit by 6 January, Mayor Sadiq Khan said.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs acknowledged the progress made but said there is still a long way to go, reported BBC.
“While we have come a long way since 2010, we recognise there is more to do which is why we have put in place a £3.5bn plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions”, a Defra spokesman said.
According to a recent NO2 study Marylebone Road and Hyde Park Corner were the most polluted postcodes in Britain.
For the capital to break the legal limits of NO2 it has to record 18 hours of at least 200 micrograms per cubic metre at any individual site.
“The windy start to 2018 is likely to have had as much to do with the reduced number of pollution spikes as anything else, but it’s clearly good news for Londoners that their air isn’t as filthy as usual this January,” Friends of the Earth clean air campaigner Oliver Hayes said.
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