London Air Quality - Pollution

Why is it particularly bad today?http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/latest/?zone_id=7&date=12%2F03%2F2016#summary

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Call for emergency London air pollution restrictions

Why is it particularly bad today?

At a wild guess - A high pressure ridge moving across the SE of England, combined with low ground temperatures, higher air temperatures, and low wind, causing an inversion layer over the Thames Valley & London.

And I've just bee started on beclometasone.

Do not like.

Client Earth have applied to take the Govt back to the Supreme Court due to their failure to address London's illegal air pollution. Fingers crossed...

Good luck to them. I'd welcome any improvement before it all ends up 'Moving out of London' thread. :)

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/jars-of-shoreditch-air-on-sale-for-20-a-pop-a3214646.html

This may be modelled on "Berliner Luft", which likewise was empty jars (well, jars full of air which may or may not have been from Berlin). It actually proved quite a popular souvenir there, but mainly because it was based on an old popular song called "Berliner Luft". Let's see if it catches on in London even without song support. :)

http://lcc.org.uk/articles/lcc-joins-cab-drivers-and-greenpeace-to-demand-real-action-on-air-pollution

Is this some sort of joke?

lcc.org.uk/articles/lcc-joins-cab­-drivers-and-greenpeace-to-demand-real-a­ction-on-air-pollution

The cabbies are just arsed off at increasing numbers or private hire cabs. Why on earth TFL don't make running on electricity a condition of all taxi licensing I have no idea.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/16/boris-johnson-accused-of-burying-study-linking-pollution-and-deprived-schools

It's been an open secret that Johnson just sat on the evidence concerning air pollution. It's now becoming public as Sadiq Khan is apparently starting to clear out the closet.

TfL Air pollution survey

https://talklondon.london.gov.uk/cleaning-londons-air-pollution?utm_source=TfL%20email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=airquality

good news, Khan wants to "slap a £10 pollution charge on top of the £11.50 congestion charge"!!

per Time Out

I really like this new mayor

This summer have been extraordinary, my colleague at work have to take sick leaves more regularly and my girlfriends suffer really badly (asthma).

Is the pollution a lots worse now?

I was in Barcelona earlier and surprised at how easy it is to breathe there.

It's not better. There's nothing being done about it. Although, it's one of the 5 things (along with obesity and sexual health) that the new mayor is focussing on...

Yeah, an extra tenner for dirty vehicles, but nothing doing about replacing the old double deckers.

Where do you start when there's no money?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/19/many-car-brands-emit-more-pollution-than-volkswagen-report-finds
tl;dr if it's a diesel vehicle, it's poisoning you a whole lot more than it should be. And it is not illegal (unlike smoking in a pub).

Is the pollution a lots worse now?

You can take a look for yourself as DEFRA make their monitoring data public:

https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/data_selector

I made a wee plot of NO2, PM2.5 and Ozone at three monitoring sites in London for the past 5 years. Its based on daily mean data, daily max values have similar trends.

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a wondering,

Is anybody offering help to Black Cab drivers, via a campaign for a scheme to financially subsidise cabbies converting their cabs or engines to low-emissions or no-emission?!

heard that the Black Cab Lobby is seeking to campaign for a reversal to two-way cycle lanes in Bloomsbury, so obviously they've a bee in their bonnets and could do with some love!

ps. just saw a colourful Black Cab - so refreshing to the eyes!

@Oliver Schick

might you recall the forummonger alias that contains the letters 'LCC'?!

(bit forgetful at times - apologies!)

ps. about tonight at all?

impromptu Easts perhaps?!

@charlie_lcc ?

It was only ever intended as a temporary trial. LCC are already on the case trying to make sure it becomes permanent...

http://lcc.org.uk/articles/take-action-save-tavistock-place-in-less-than-a-minute

They were out flyering cyclists to drum up support yesterday morning.

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/environment/air-quality-consultation-phase-2?cid=airquality-consultation

Anybody up for translating the consultation questions into english?

1. Following the start of ULEZ in central London, to what extent do support or oppose residents continuing to be liable for the Emission Surcharge, at the discounted rate of £1, during the ULEZ sunset period (for the first 3 years, while residents do not pay the ULEZ charge)?