Moderate air pollution forecast for London tomorrow

Moderate levels of air pollution are forecast across London tomorrow (February 6).

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) says levels will be highest in parts of North London including Holloway, Haringey and Walthamstow. However, they expect it to cover the whole city and to stretch as far east as Southend-on-Sea. 

King’s College London’s monitoring network, London Air, reports that the increased levels forecast for Thursday are due to a combination of mild weather and a very light breeze, which means local emissions can build up and are harder to disperse, especially at busy roadside locations and areas affected by industry.

The Met Office supplies an air quality forecast for Defra based on five key pollutants: ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, PM2.5 and PM10.

When air pollution is forecast as ‘moderate’, Defra recommends that adults and children with lung and heart problems should consider reducing strenuous physical activity.

Levels are expected to return to ‘low’ on Friday for the whole of the UK.

View the forecast here.