(Photo by Robyn Beck) AFP via Getty Images Driving home the need to stay at home led to historically low levels of cars on the roads, and air pollution levels. Angeles on April 7, as the city enters what health officials tipped to be one of the worst weeks in terms of the spread of coronavirus. Instead of bumper-to-bumper cars and clogged highways, the mostly empty highway through downtown Los. Post-Brexit prophecies o f the UK setting “its own rules on the air people breathe” rather than lifting its standards to comply with the EU, seem to be coming true.
Despite vehicles contributing almost a third of Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions, he says, the UK continues to build “roads to nowhere.” Instead, more local public transport and car alternatives for those who live outside big cities too, are needed to help kick car dependency. He gives the example of a person’s asthma greatly improving during quarantine, thus acting as a clean air consciousness-rouser.ĭecarbonising the transport sector is a priority for Stephen Joseph, a visiting professor at the University of Hertfordshire’s Smart Mobility Research Unit.
So that people start expecting clean air in their daily lives, rather than growing accustomed to the pollution. Simon Birkett, founder and director of Clean Air in London is hoping the lockdown might spark greater awareness. He’s reveling in the more audible birdsong, during his daily exercise allowance. Takeaway Lesson? In a word: Cut car dependency, increase bike-walk commutes.Įcologist Simon Curry, told the BBC that when the lockdown ends people should really be asking themselves if it's essential to drive to work, and consider walking instead. (Photo by Ben STANSALL) AFP via Getty Images across Britain are at a trickle, with notable major strides for clean air campaigners as air pollution linked mostly to cars slumps significantly. lockdown, traffic on London roads, and highways. “We can have a better, cleaner future for ourselves and the planet … Once this dreadful situation is over, we don't want to go back to where we were or worse, and we can't have an accelerated return to ‘business as usual’”, she told the BBC.Ī near empty A21 south of London. Unlike some experts, who predict the current situation will not last, she wants people to act to ensure it does. “People across the UK are paying a heavy price for the government’s continuing failure to clean up the nation’s filthy air, with tens of thousands of premature deaths every year,” she said recently. One of them, Jenny Bates, a campaigner at Friends of the Earth, says the drop in air pollution shows just how quickly less traffic can lead to cleaner air. Scientists predict the presence of toxic pollutants will slump even further in coming weeks as “traffic remains off the roads”.Įnvironmentalists hope it will lead to “a permanent change” reports the BBC. lockdown began on March 23, London and several other cities have seen up to 60% less NO2 levels compared with the same time last year. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) Getty Images cities thanks to the major cuts in traffic, and related pollutants. improvements in the capital and in other major U.K. The coronavirus lockdown is seeing air pollution.