London Mayor to introduce air pollution alerts in bid to tackle emissions

Air pollution alerts are to be introduced in London in a bid to tackle car emissions, the capital’s Mayor said on Friday.

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London said from 15 August notices will be displayed at bus stops, tube stations and road signs before and during high pollution days.

The warnings will tell people if they should consider walking, cycling or taking any other public transport, let asthma sufferers know they may need to use their inhaler and tell drivers of stationary cars to turn off their engines.

In April the Supreme Court ruled that air quality in London breached the European Union’s clean air rules. London is expected to meet EU air limits by 2025.

After exceeding Boris Johnson as Mayor in May, Khan launched a consultation and found that 79% of Londoners wanted to be told when pollution was high. When campaigning for the mayoralty he also promised to increase the congestion charge, scrap diesel cars and extend the ultra-low emission zone.

Khan said: "Unlike my predecessor, I believe that Londoners have a right to know about the quality of the air that they breathe.

"These new alerts will allow them to take precautions and help them plan ahead to avoid the worst instances of air pollution. I hope that these alerts will become less and less frequent as we take steps to make our already great city a cleaner place to live, work and study in."

The office for the Mayor of London found that 9,400 Londoners die from air pollution each year and 500,000 people aged 19 and under live in areas that breach the EU limit.

About 443 London schools have unsafe pollution levels and about 86 of these are secondary schools.