Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Ongoing ozone pollution episode over London longest since 2003
This is not getting much attention on local media, apart from one BBC London reporter who tweeted about it, but London and the South East are currently under a Code Red level pollution alert, meaning that due to the hot conditions, levels of ozone at ground level are high, causing a summertime smog
From the DefraSite, the forecast states that
"A combination of locally generated pollutants and additional pollution imported from the continent due to southerly winds is likely to lead to widespread Moderate levels across much of England and Wales and parts of central Scotland. Levels may locally be High across southeast England and the London area."
Checking the Ladder area on the Defra Map, (put your postcode in the box about halfway down for a more detailed forecast) the level of air pollution in Haringey and the surrounding area is currently standing at Level 6, deemed moderate. London Air has two monitoring sites at Haringey Town Hall in Tottenham, currently showing low (level 2), and at Priory Park currently showing Level 6 (moderate) although only the Priory Park one has submitted data on the level of ozone.
This level of ozone in the atmosphere has serious health implications for people with heart and lung problems, including asthma, and some people may experience sore eyes and or a runny nose. With the current pandemic, these conditions almost certainly provide an additional hazard to health for anyone fighting COVID-19 in London and the South East at present.
To find out more the Defra Site has a lot of Air Pollution across the country
Forecasts and readings for London can be found at London Air, a site run by Imperial College, where you can also sign up for a daily air pollution email.
More about ozone
Tags for Forum Posts: air pollution, nature notes
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Just a quick signpost to this excellent programme about Frank Kelly from The Life Scientific series who is the driving force behind London's Air Quality Monitoring and the man that blew the whistle on diesel car emissions
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To bang on about this a bit more, the ozone levels in Priory Park yesterday at 4pm showed 204. the EU threshold is 180. Stats from the DEFRA website.
The American Air Quality Index says that *everyone* should limit outdoor activity, especially in late afternoon, when levels go over 200.
Just to be clear this is the toxic ozone formed when emissions from internal combustion engines combine chemically with oxygen during sunny high temperature conditions. The very air we were breathing yesterday afternoon was full of this toxic gas.
So, if this level is registered in the west of the borough, can you imagine how toxic the air is in the car heavy traffic of the east? Haringey Council leave it to TFL to advertise pollution incidents apparently but in situations like this I think an amplification of the Public Health Alert issued yesterday (too late probably) would have been appropriate. As far as I could ascertain, no mention was made anywhere on any social media or website that there was a public health threat in the borough.
Does anyone else see the fractured thinking that the council is responsible for how car use is managed in the borough but the air above those cars is not? It doesn't make sense to me.
The good news is that with the rain and lower temperatures, pollution levels have dropped significantly today although there is a London Moderate level warning still in force. Tomorrow will be even better.
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Permalink Reply by Louise Wass on
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Good points Liz.
Do you think we could have a chat about Clean Air in Haringey and how we measure report this as we are planning a Clean Air Webinar in September with speakers from Scientists to campaigning parents. Can I email you directly with some questions?
Thanks
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