London Air Quality - Pollution

It's like telling people not to buy TVs cos of burglars.

You can clearly see it from a distance but the actual pollution values are not worse that some of the worst pre pandemic

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I mean, on the upside, central LDN's folks heating bills will be lower as the smog keeps the heat in?

I think clouds are much better for that.

I dunno, in Glasgow constantly surrounded by clouds and its just wet and freezing. Regularly in the 70-80% RH here!

@Acliff

It's like telling people not to buy TVs cos of burglars.
Yup.

Would be great if they said don't drive instead.

quite a difference from yesterday

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It is interesting to see the 'live' map in comparison.
At 3pm it was mostly 3s and 4s (out of a max of 10) in central London, one 8 near Vauxhall according to this.

https://www.londonair.org.uk/london/asp/publicbulletin.asp

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this one looks more severe

https://waqi.info/#/c/51.528/0.006/11z

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And, yes, my saying 'don't breathe' is obviously absurd. 'Don't drive' was the message I didn't see enough of today.

Today every Londoner will smoke the equivalent of 4 cigarettes whether they like it or not.

Help to reduce #AirPollution in London – leave your car at home today! AutomobileRightwards arrowHouse building

Do your bit to create cleaner airWind blowing face, walkWoman walking, cycle Bicycle, wheelMan in manual wheelchairor use public transportBusMetro

We all have a role to play in tackling the climate crisis, let’s act now!Earth globe europe-africaGreen heart

https://mobile.twitter.com/lambeth_council/status/1481919292610338818

Air wind blowing face.

The last two evenings have had incredibly vivid sunsets, at the expense of being able to breathe. Swings and roundabouts.

My cycle commute gear smells like I’ve been standing next to a bonfire. It fucking reeks.

It's interesting what happens when London doesn't get so much wind. That driving is back with a vengeance is clear, irrespective of what the precise numbers may be, but the main worry is, of course, with the modal share shift towards driving; even if overall traffic (including all modes) is still down, that tube and buses have seen such a drop in patronage pushes the share of driving well up. I don't know if it's just because I knew about the risk from the public service announcements about pollution, but I certainly seem to have smelled car exhausts more the last few days, if I wasn't just imagining that.

Cycling along the canal at Hackney Wick took about 10 years off my life this afternoon.

Chat between Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah (mother of Ella Roberta) and Myriam Francois.

https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/bwgV3

Don't know the data, but in Glasgow we now have worst car traffic ever, during 20/21 was mostly bliss, but since Sept 21 its got noticeably worse, areas that had mild problems before are now backed up. Drivers more angry at each other and at other users too. Fun.

Yes, it's sort of what I was expecting.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/345710/

We can hope (a little) for a re-growth of public transport use:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/20/tube-journeys-up-work-from-home-covid-guidance-ends

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/tfl-london-tube-plan-b-working-from-home-b977836.html

I live near the Emirates Stadium in Islington and during matches a number of for-hire vans, mini-busses etc stand in the nearby streets with engines idling and drivers waiting for the end of the match. Most switch their engines off when asked but it does not efficiently solve the problem. It is possible to report idling with Islington's anti-social behaviour form but I am not sure what if anything is done with that. Any suggestion on how to address this?

Idling just seems like something so easy to fix. There's no benefit to the driver to leave the car idling. It just seems like learned behaviour, as does the indignation when told to turn off.

Aren't they usually charging their phone or they have the air-con on. Both shit reasons but car users can get a bit indignant about that kind of thing.

Live opposite a primary school. Catchment area is tiny, less than a mile IIRC, yet over half the kids arrive by car (usually SUV). Folk rent a flat here, get their kids in, then move back to where they came from (more than a mile away) then drive everyday.

In the ten years I've been here its gone from very small numbers by car, to over half (and school has been rebuilt and doubled in size). Never used to bother me but this last year has been mental, enough content to field a decent TV docu series with.

My fav's are the ones who rock up in an SUV, 'park' in the middle of the road blocking all traffic so henry can get out and walk 2m to the school gate, then drive away using all of the speed. End of day, same person will park fully on a pavement or grass area and leave engine running to charge their phone, they'll be there for 45 minutes, occasionally engine revs up slightly (I assume its the AC knocking on and off) then turns off, then they force it back on (phone still needs charged you know!), until henry turns back up after school and then their off again. Rinse and repeat with a few hundred of these wankers a day and you soon get pretty fed up.