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Cycling answer to worsening air quality

World Health Organisation and King’s College, London, professor cite cycling as key to air pollution solution

Cycling has been highlighted by both the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the professor of environmental health at King’s College, London, as part of the solution to the problem of worsening air quality.

Information released today by the WHO states that in most cities where there is enough data to compare current air pollution levels with previous years, the situation is getting worse.

The organisation estimates that outdoor air pollution was responsible for 3.7 million premature deaths of individuals under the age of 60 around the world in 2012.

The WHO director for public health, environmental and social determinants of health, Dr Maria Neira, underlined the prominent role that active transport and improved cycling infrastructure plays in the cities which have improved their air quality.

She said: “Effective policies and strategies are well understood, but they need to be implemented at sufficient scale.

“Cities such as Copenhagen and Bogotà, for example, have improved air quality by promoting ‘active transport’ and prioritizing dedicated networks of urban public transport, walking and cycling.

“We can win the fight against air pollution and reduce the number of people suffering from respiratory and heart disease, as well as lung cancer."

The government in the UK also issued figures last month that suggested 29,000 premature deaths per year came as a result of poor air quality.

In April the level of pollution in some parts of south-east England reached the top of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' ten-point scale, as a result of particular weather conditions and Saharan dust being blown north.

Experts were divided as to whether cycling in these conditions would cause harm or not, but both the WHO and professor Frank Kelly of King’s College, London, agree that it is key in solving the problem.

Kelly, professor of environmental health, wrote a piece for the Evening Standard in which he outlined his beliefs that London’s poor air quality now “poses a significant threat to our health.”

In the piece he highlighted the diesel engines that power nearly all of our public transportation vehicles and around half of the cars on the capital’s roads as the primary culprits for the city’s poor air quality.

He also suggested a number of measures that should be taken to improve the state of the city’s air, including improvements to cycling infrastructure regardless of the cost it may incur.

He wrote: “The UK’s air quality improvements have miserably stalled and in London especially this now poses a significant threat to our health.

“To cut pollution we must reduce traffic and ensure that what remains on the road is cleaner.

“We could do so through a more effective low-emission zone; investing in clean and affordable public transport; moving back from diesel to petrol or at least banning all highly polluting diesel vehicles; lowering speed limits and enhancing cycle routes.

“There will be costs — but these should be balanced against the cost of the impact of air pollution in the UK, estimated at up to £19 billion a year.”

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8 comments

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OldRidgeback | 10 years ago
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A quick and easy solution to the issue of diesel particulates would be to require vehicles with diesel engines such as city buses and taxis to run on methane or propane. The technology's well-proven and this is widely used in other cities.

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IanW1968 | 10 years ago
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...and if you are the one who cycles your some kind of nutter.

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captain_slog | 10 years ago
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Almost everyone wants more cycling - just as long as someone else does it.

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northstar | 10 years ago
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Still not going to do anything about it though are you?

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Argos74 | 10 years ago
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Also a damned good answer for obesity, morbidity, congestion and urban planning. You name a social or environmental ill, chances are the humble bike will have a decent crack at it.

Next they'll be claiming cycling can cure cancer. Well, bugger me sideways with a fishfork...

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zanf | 10 years ago
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Quote:

In April the level of pollution in some parts of south-east England reached the top of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' ten-point scale, as a result of particular weather conditions and Saharan dust being blown north.

There are several points around London that reach the upper levels of the DEFRA scale for air quality on a regular basis. The reason Aprils one was all over the news was two fold: the Saharan dust that made the pollution so visible and that air quality reporting had just been handed over to the Met Office.

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Paul_C replied to zanf | 10 years ago
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meanwhile the government has slashed the budget for these monitoring stations resulting in them closing down and thus no longer finding polution to report...

the old if I don't look, it's not happening trick first deployed by Nelson but perfected by politicians of all parties when they want to hide something...

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zanf replied to Paul_C | 10 years ago
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Paul_C wrote:

meanwhile the government has slashed the budget for these monitoring stations resulting in them closing down and thus no longer finding polution to report...

the old if I don't look, it's not happening trick first deployed by Nelson but perfected by politicians of all parties when they want to hide something...

There is also the 10 unbelievable things that Johnson has done to cover up Londons pollution

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