{"id":63477,"date":"2020-01-29T20:21:33","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T20:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/?p=63477"},"modified":"2023-05-30T23:59:20","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T22:59:20","slug":"urban-populations-in-south-east-at-greatest-risk-from-air-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/2020\/01\/29\/urban-populations-in-south-east-at-greatest-risk-from-air-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban populations in south-east at greatest risk from air pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"
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London, Slough, Chatham, Luton and Portsmouth had the highest proportion of deaths attributable to pollution the study found.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n

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\"PoweredThis article titled “Urban populations in south-east at greatest risk from air pollution” was written by Patrick Butler Social policy editor, for The Guardian on Monday 27th January 2020 00.01 UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

More than one in 19 deaths in Britain\u2019s largest towns and cities are linked to air pollution \u2013 with people living in urban areas in south-east England more likely to die from exposure to toxic air, according to a new study.<\/p>\n

London, Slough, Chatham, Luton and Portsmouth had the highest proportion of deaths attributable to pollution the study found, with around one in 16 in 2017 caused by high levels of harmful particulates in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

By contrast, places such as Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Blackpool attributed one in 30 deaths to air pollution, highlighting what the study\u2019s authors, the Centre for Cities<\/a> thinktank, called a \u201csouth-north\u201d divide in air quality.<\/p>\n

Although air pollution was a problem in most big cities and urban areas of the UK, it was especially heavily concentrated in the south-east, including places like Southampton, Reading, Oxford, Cambridge, Basildon and Northampton.<\/p>\n

Air pollution was the UK\u2019s largest environmental risk<\/a> to public health, it said, producing the equivalent of 40,000 deaths a year nationally. It urged the government to introduce stricter legal guidelines on particulate matter emissions<\/a> to help tackle the problem.<\/p>\n

It also urged local authorities to raise their game on cutting air pollution. Practical local policies aimed at cutting pollution were slow or absent, in contrast to the enthusiasm with which many councils have made political declarations of climate emergency<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoliticians often talk tough on addressing air pollution but we need to see more action. Cities should be at the centre of the fight against toxic air and councils should take the steps needed, including charging people to drive in city centres and banning wood-burning stoves,\u201d said Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities.<\/p>\n

He urged more councils to follow London\u2019s lead in creating a Ultra-Low Emission Zone<\/a>, which from last April has charged motorists who drive older, polluting cars and vans in the centre of the capital. The city had already succeed in reducing air pollution as a result, he said.<\/p>\n

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China produces the most heat-trapping pollution, followed by the US. But historically, the US has contributed more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than any other nation. The US also has high emissions per capita, compared to other developed countries. And Americans buy products made in China, therefore supporting China’s carbon footprint. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The report also found:<\/p>\n