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Mayor Sadiq Khan today put London on toxic air alert for at least three days.

City Hall sent out warnings that air pollution could rise today to “moderate” in 17 boroughs and the City.

It is then set to hit a “high” peak in Westminster and the Square Mile tomorrow before reducing to “moderate” in these two areas on Friday.

But some of the capital’s busiest main roads will be blighted by “high” pollution on all three days, according to the airtext forecasts put out by the Mayor.

Mr Khan said: “London’s dirty air is a public health emergency.

“We will continue to use all the technology at our disposal to inform Londoners about levels of air pollution in their neighbourhoods.”

The Department for Environment suggested the pollution episode could last until at least Sunday.

Official health advice on days of “moderate” air pollution says adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, who experience symptoms, should consider reducing strenuous physical activity.

If it reaches a “high” level, these groups of people should reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors, and particularly if they experience symptoms.

People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. Older people should also reduce physical exertion.

For the general public, the “high” pollution advice is that anyone experiencing discomfort such as sore eyes, a cough or sore throat should consider reducing activity, particularly outdoors.</s>News of the pollution levels in our smog-filled city hasn’t been great of late. Just five days into 2017, London breached its yearly air pollution limit, and now things have just been cranked up to a whole new level. Sadiq Khan has just put London on toxic air alert for at least three days and warned that Londoners face a ‘public health emergency’. Blimey.

Air pollution is set to hit a ‘high peak’ in central parts of the capital, including Westminster and the Square Mile, after rising to ‘moderate’ in 17 boroughs. An airtext forecast sent out by the Mayor suggests some of London’s busiest roads will be hit with ‘high’ pollution on all three days.

The Mayor of London, who’s pledged to spend a whopping £875 million on London's pollution problem, said: ‘London’s dirty air is a public health emergency. We will continue to use all the technology at our disposal to inform Londoners about levels of air pollution in their neighbourhoods.’

And official advice from the Department for the Environment isn't too reassuring. They’ve told older people and anyone with lung problems, asthma or heart problems to reduce strenuous physical activity outdoors on 'moderate' and 'high' air pollution days, while anyone experiencing sore eyes, a cough or sore throat should also advised to reduce their physical activity when levels are 'high'.

In the meantime, if you haven’t invested in one of those weird masks yet, there’s a handy app that'll let you know if you're about to succumb to a pollution-related illness. So, that should (sort of) help you breathe a little easier.

On the plus side, pollution levels are decreasing on Oxford Street.</s>LONDON (AP) — London's mayor has issued a smog alert for the British capital, advising people with heart and lung conditions to avoid outdoor exercise.

Mayor Sadiq Khan says Londoners with asthma or heart problems "are advised to consider reducing strenuous physical activity, particularly outdoors."

The London Air Quality Network, run by King's College London, said there would be moderate-to-high air pollution Thursday.

Pollution haze over South East London, through a window in a viewing area of the 95-storey skyscraper The Shard, the tallest building in Britain, in London, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. The London mayor's office says the city is experiencing a period of air pollution with pollution readings moderate to high across the city. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Under a system introduced by the mayor last year, air quality alerts are displayed at bus stops and subway station entrances during times of elevated pollution. Road signs instruct drivers to switch their engines off when stopped to reduce emissions.

Khan has vowed to improve London's worsening air quality. Some of the pollution comes from diesel vehicles, although Thursday's alert is partly due to industrial emissions from continental Europe.

Pollution haze over a view of London, through a window in a viewing area of the 95-storey skyscraper The Shard, the tallest building in Britain, in London, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. The London mayor's office says the city is experiencing a period of air pollution with pollution readings moderate to high across the city. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

People look out from a viewing area of the 95-storey skyscraper The Shard, the tallest building in Britain at 309.6 metres, in London, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. The London mayor's office says the city is experiencing a period of air pollution with pollution readings moderate to high across the city. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

People take pictures as pollution is seen through windows over the 30 St Mary Axe building nicknamed "the Gherkin" from a viewing area of the 95-storey skyscraper The Shard, the tallest building in Britain at 309.6 metres, in London, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. Eight London boroughs issued high pollution warnings Thursday. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)</s>A toxic air alert has been issued for London for the next three days in what mayor Sadiq Khan has called a ‘public health emergency’.

City Hall has warned that air pollution could rise to ‘moderate levels’ today in the City and 17 boroughs and then hit ‘high’ in Westminster and Square Mile tomorrow before reducing to ‘moderate’ on Friday.

The roads in the capital hit by the heaviest traffic will also experience ‘high’ pollution over the same three days, according to airtext forecasts.

The London Mayor said: ‘London’s dirty air is a public health emergency.

‘We will continue to use all the technology at our disposal to inform Londoners about levels of air pollution in their neighbourhoods.’

During periods of ‘high’ pollution, the Department for the Environment advises anyone experiencing discomfort, such sore eyes, cough or sore throat, should reduce activity.

It said: ‘Adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, should reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors, and particularly if they experience symptoms.

‘People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. Older people should also reduce physical exertion.’</s>A toxic air alert has been issued for London over the next three days, as Mayor Sadiq Khan warned of a "public health emergency".

Air pollution is set to hit a "high peak" in central parts of the capital including Westminster and the Square Mile, after rising to "moderate" in a total of 17 boroughs on Wednesday.

While levels of toxicity are set to return to normal on Friday, airtext forecasts issued by the Mayor suggest many of London's busiest roads will suffer "high" pollution on all three days.

“We will continue to use all the technology at our disposal to inform Londoners about levels of air pollution in their neighbourhoods.”

Official advice issued by the Department for the Environment says: "Adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, who experience symptoms, should consider reducing strenuous physical activity, particularly outdoors."

If air pollution hits "high" levels, these groups of people are advised to reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors, and particularly if they experience symptoms.

"Anyone experiencing discomfort such as sore eyes, cough or sore throat should consider reducing activity, particularly outdoors," the guidance says.

"People with asthma may find they need to use their reliever inhaler more often. Older people should also reduce physical exertion."</s>London was put on alert for a public health emergency today over toxic air pollution.

Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, said air pollution could rise to 'moderate' in more than half of the capital's 32 boroughs as he issued the warnings for the next three days.

Central London will be worst hit, with the warnings rising to 'high' in Westminster and the Square Mile tomorrow.

Public health advice recommends people experiencing sore eyes, a cough or sore throat should consider reducing activity - particularly the outdoors - during 'high' pollution alerts.

'We will continue to use all the technology at our disposal to inform Londoners about levels of air pollution in their neighbourhoods.'</s>A London-wide air quality warning has been issued as the cold, clear conditions cause pollution in the capital.

Mayor Sadiq Khan has triggered the air quality alert, which will be displayed at bus stops, tube stations and roadsides to give Londoners information about the situation.

Air which has brought pollutants from industrialised and urban areas of Germany and the other side of the Channel, is combining with local emissions that have built up in the still conditions in London on Thursday.

The London Air Quality Network run by King's College London said there is expected to be moderate levels of pollutants known as particulates, with high levels of PM2.5 particulates at busy roadsides.

Moderate levels of nitrogen dioxide are expected close to busy roads as a result of poor dispersal of the pollutant.

Under such conditions, adults and children with lung problems, and adults with heart problems, who experience symptoms, are advised to consider reducing strenuous physical activity, particularly outdoors.

The mayor's air quality alert system was first triggered in December, after it was announced in August.

Mr Khan said: " The extent of our air quality crisis means that I have today triggered a London-wide air quality alert, ensuring Londoners have all the information possible.

"It's crucial that Londoners who are vulnerable, such as asthma sufferers, are able to take appropriate measures to protect themselves."

He said London was delivering on an ambitious programme to tackle air pollution, including bringing in ultra-low emissions zone and cleaning up the bus fleet, but called on the Government to play its part.

"By funding a national diesel scrappage scheme, reforming vehicle excise duty and bringing in a new Clean Air Act the Government could finally prove that they match our ambition.

"This requires all levels of Government to work together as an urgent priority to finally tackle the problem once and for all."</s>It's one of London's busiest and most polluted streets, notorious for its poor air quality, but Oxford Street is finally cleaning up its act. After a switch from diesel to electric buses and a crackdown on retail deliveries, air pollution has dropped by a third on Europe's busiest shopping street.

TfL introduced plans to ensure that 70 percent of the 262 buses that travel down the street each hour are now electric or low emission. Nitrogen dioxide released by vehicles fell from 86 micrograms per cubic metre in 2016, down from 135 micrograms in 2015 – a drop of 30 percent. The Mayor of London Sadiq Kahn, who pledged £875 million to fight pollution in the capital, welcomed the news.

'The improvement in Oxford Street’s air quality is welcome news and testament to the changes that we have been making not only in this area, but to the entire bus and taxi fleet in London. This is only the beginning and there’s still a lot more work to be done in the battle against London’s toxic air', he said.

He's not wrong. Parts of London breached the annual air pollution limit just five days into 2017 and levels on Oxford Street remain in breach of EU regulation every year. But progress is being made. In 2015 Oxford Street breached toxic limits for 1,391 hours, but last year this fell to 163 hours – an 88 percent decrease. Sadiq Khan also has grand plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street completely by 2020, which should help clean up our city's air.

Now if only there was something we could do about those pesky slow-walking tourists.

Breath easy: there’s an app that shows you the least polluted routes through London

And have you seen that the Piccadilly Circus billboards have been switched off?</s>Following are excerpts from a CNBC interview with Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, from the World Economic Forum 2017 with Wilfred Frost



SK: What we're trying to do is impress upon our Prime Minister, the importance of privileged access to a single market. She said warm words about the importance of a single market, I accept the case that the British public have voted to leave the European Union, to leave the structures, the legal institutions. What the British public haven't done is to vote to make us poorer. I'm quite clear speaking to business leaders, speaking to executives, entrepreneurs, innovators, that access to a single market, the continued ability to attract talent is important for jobs growth and prosperity. It's one of the things I'm doing, is not just lobbying the British government but lobbying businesses to impress upon their governments the fact that a hard Brexit would be bad for London and bad for Europe too.

WF: How hard would it be, how bad would it be?



SK: All the evidence that we have is one of the reasons is why businesses love investing in London. Whether it's finance, whether it's tech, whether its pharmaceutical, is our access to a single market, is our ability to attract the most talented from around the world. And the concern is that some of these businesses may decide to leave London and go not just to maybe Paris, Madrid or Berlin but may leave Europe all together and go to Hong Kong, Singapore, or elsewhere. So a message to my European friends is, it's in your interests too to make sure there isn't a so called 'hard Brexit'. 



WF: So far is there already signs of companies leaving not just London but Europe, I mean we just had the Q4 results of various US investment banks, very strong numbers from them and they all suggest they are taking market share from Europe already.



SK: Well the good news is last year we saw huge investments in London, you saw Google, Apple, Facebook, Snapchat widening their presence in London. There is a concern that if there is no longer a passport?with financial services there is a concern if we no longer have access to a single market some of these banks, investment firms may leave London. They don't want to leave London, they love being in London, we're the cultural capital of the world, we've got the greatest theatres, restaurants and all the rest of it. And what's important is our Prime minister gets it because if it is the case that we lose access to a single market, if it's the case that firms leave London, we'll be poorer as a result and future generations will be let down.



WF: There was a great sense of divide across the UK after the Brexit Vote particularly in places like London which had voted to remain, similar in fact sense of divide across the united states at the moment. In London itself do you feel like enough time has passed that things have healed, that sense of divide has healed?



SK: So London was the one region in England to vote to remain in the EU overwhelming so, but we've got to accept, and this is the point I made in the speech last night, there is a rise of populism, across the world, the USA we saw it recently, France, the UK. In my view, the EU vote, the Brexit vote was a proxy for the frustrations that people have, the middle class have. The fact they are not showing the fruits of globalisation and we need to make sure that we do a far better job in them getting the benefits of globalization or getting more and more of populism rising. 



WF: During Donald Trump's election campaign there was a lot of strong rhetoric including some anti-Muslim rhetoric which has been put to you before. In terms of how he's changed, since the election, during the transition period, are you encouraged by the changed we've seen in Donald Trump's rhetoric or are you still very concerned about some of it, particularly the comments he had towards Muslims?



SK: Well look toward the end of this week Donald Trump will be the President of the United States of America. We have got a special relationship with the USA. You look at the USA's history, you'll know this the importance of immigration to the USA the importance of being a diverse society, and I am sure president trump will understand the importance of the message the USA sends as a friend to people around the world but also as a pluralistic society and I'm looking forward to President Trump recognising the huge contribution Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs and others, those of no organised faith have made to the USA and to the west generally.</s>Partly because they too have their own issues and also because we live in a connected ecosystem.

This is made abundantly clear each year in Phuket when the island is blanketed in smog and haze due to forest fires and clear-cutting to establish oil palm plantations in neighbouring Indonesia.

Air pollution is a complex topic as so many factors are responsible for the poor quality of our air.

However, simply put, air pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change which causes the atmosphere to become dirty and thus risks not only our own potential for survival but also that of other animals and plants.

Air pollution can also be further divided into two distinct categories; visible and invisible. Both can lead to an alteration of the delicate balance of our atmosphere and cause problems to health on a local scale and also damage to the ecosystem globally in terms of depletion of the ozone layer leading to climate change.

Air pollution can arise in two main ways. First, pollutants can be released directly into the atmosphere and are known as primary pollutants. Second, primary pollutants can combine to form secondary pollutants and this can be seen in the formation of phenomena such as smog.

Fossil fuels: A main cause of air pollution is the one you might expect, namely the sulphur released from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum.

We rely on petrol, diesel and jet fuel to transport not only us, but our goods, around the world in our increasingly globalised economy. In 2015 alone, nearly 3.6 billion passengers, almost half the world’s population, were transported by the world’s airlines.

Vehicle Emissions: As our reliance on cars, trucks, shipping freighters and aeroplanes increases so do the levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere. 13 per cent of global CO2 emissions, a major factor in global warming, come from transport.

Agriculture: We may not always immediately think of agricultural activities being connected to air pollution but methane and ammonia are both by-products of farming and are highly hazardous to our environment. This is compounded by the use of pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers, a heady cocktail of chemicals, some parts of which make it into the air.

Manufacturing: Heavy industry leads to the release of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and a soup of other chemicals, all of which can lead to a decline in air quality. Oil refineries also release hydrocarbons which pollute the atmosphere.

Deforestation: Deforestation is caused by clearing land for agriculture, manufacturing and ever growing urban areas. This lowers air quality because the fewer trees there are the less carbon dioxide they can absorb.

Mining: The result of mining on the health of workers and nearby residents has been clearly demonstrated over the years and in developing countries the quest to extract as many tons of natural resources as possible is having a devastating impact on the health of those working in the mines.

Indoor pollution: What we use in our own homes is also leading to air pollution. Household cleaning products, paints and varnishes release chemicals into the air which contribute to poor air quality.

What Damage Does Air Pollution Do?

Air pollution damages our environment, and it also leads to a variety of health issues and even death.

Circulatory and respiratory issues: The particulates in the atmosphere have been linked to heart problems, respiratory issues and even cancer. Current estimates are that polluted air causes 5.5 million premature deaths per year.

Climate change: The rise of levels of carbon dioxide, alongside other greenhouses gases, has led to global warming which has caused increasingly unpredictable weather systems and the melting of the ice caps.

Thinning of the ozone layer: As the levels of hydro chlorofluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere rise this leads to a depletion of the ozone layer which protects the planet. As it does we are exposed to higher levels of ultraviolet light which can cause skin and eye problems.

Acid rain: As sulphur and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere they can combine with water droplets and fall as acid rain. The results can be devastating to fish, wildlife, trees and even the crops we rely on for our food production.

What Can Be Done About Air Pollution?

Air pollution needs to be tackled at a global level through legislation and international agreements which aim to reduce pollution levels, such as the Paris Agreement which was signed in December 2015.

However, there are also steps we as individuals can take to lower our own environmental impact, particularly when it comes to air pollution.

Reduce your use of private vehicles: Where possible travel to your destination on foot, by bicycle, on public transport or car pool with others in your area. By lowering vehicle emissions you can reduce your carbon footprint.

Conserve energy in the home: Reduce your use of electricity by purchasing eco-friendly goods, keeping your thermostat turned down and insulating your property. Switch to sources of renewable energy where possible.

Recycle: Try to buy less things new and recycle household items as well as everything you are throwing out, even food scraps can go on a compost heap.

Reduce food miles: By purchasing more local food from farmers’ markets and growing your own fresh produce you can drastically reduce the distance your food travels to reach your plate.

Improve your indoor air quality: As well as the steps above you can also improve the air quality in your own home by asking smokers to light up elsewhere; avoiding harsh cleaning agents; minimising your use of synthetic air fresheners; opening the windows regularly; and including plants in your interior design.

While it is sometimes easy to dismiss poor air quality as something which doesn’t concern us, we only have to take a look at the statistics to understand the negative impact pollution is having on us and on our world.

It is also important to remember that it is vital for us all to take action today if we don’t want to leave a legacy it will be impossible for future generations to reverse.



Joe Thomas is a writer from the UK, who creates articles on a range of subjects, including health and nutrition, sustainability and environmental issues. He believes living a healthy lifestyle will ensure a good platform for a happier life. He can be contacted on: joe@allgreenpr.com
London Mayor Sadiq Khan declares a public health emergency for at least the next three days because of high levels of air pollution in the London area. The Department for Environment says this pollution episode could last until at least Sunday.