Phonemantra , Friday, January 27, 2017

Correspondent :

The current air pollution episode, worsened by cold and settled weather, has seen levels of unsafe PM10 particulate pollution rise in parts of London to 101 micrograms per cubic meter, Khan's office said on Monday in an e-mailed statement. With the high pressure and still conditions continuing, air pollution is also expected to be a problem across much of the United Kingdom on Tuesday. Rebecca Abrahams, head teacher at St Luke's CE school in Tower Hamlets and a signatory of the letter, said children "are being harmed by invisible air pollution from traffic" as they play outside. In very high pollution conditions, people are advised to limit exercise outside, while those with lung and heart problems and older people should avoid strenuous activity. "Air pollution is generally not the sole cause of death of individuals, but a contributory factor to deaths from other causes such as heart or lung disease". Last year, a report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Physicians found that exposure to outdoor air pollution was linked to roughly 40,000 deaths every year in the United Kingdom. They added that people with asthma may find they need to use a reliever inhaler more often. In the capital, the London Air Quality Network run by King's College, London, said the cold, calm and settled conditions over the weekend caused a build-up of local emissions from traffic and wood burning, combined with pollution from the continent. On Monday, a "very high" air pollution warning was issued for London for the first time under a new alert system, introduced previous year by the mayor. The Mayor already issued a separate very high alert about filthy air and Defra stated that it was due to light winds, high pressure, and the most popular - the wood burning stove; these are the components that further exacerbating the problem. The Mayor's advisor on toxic air from Public Health England, Dr Yvonne Doyle, said: "Air pollution continues to have a significant impact on people's health in London but the Mayor and boroughs are working to address it". PHE is advising people in those areas to reduce physical exertion, particularly when outdoors and especially if they experience symptoms such as a cough or sore throat'. On Tuesday morning, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said that air pollution levels for the Greater London area were still "Very High". PhoneMantra

SOURCE : http://phonemantra.com/2017/01/26/toxic-air-triggers-pollution-alert-in-london.html