High pollution alert triggered in London as warning issued amid 27C weather

A "high" air pollution alert has been triggered for London on Tuesday (13 June) with the public advised to “avoid unnecessary car journeys”.

The alert has been issued by City Hall as warm weather and winds blowing pollutants from the continent towards the capital alongside its own local emissions has increased ozone levels.

The mayor’s office is urging Londoners to consider walking, cycling or taking public transport instead of using their cars.

A spokesperson said people in the capital should “stop their engines idling and refrain from burning wood or garden waste".

City Hall confirmed that Tuesday will be the 201st day of either moderate or high levels of air pollution in London over the past five years. Overall there have been 14 high pollution days and 186 moderate pollution days in the capital since the start of 2018.

The high pollution alert is the second issued this year, with the first being triggered back in January. The one day of "high" pollution was followed by three days of "moderate" air pollution.

The moderate and high daily thresholds are based on the national Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The alert comes on the same day that the mayor is announcing an independent review into how the capital can harness technology to adapt and prepare for the effects of climate change.

The review, called the London Climate Resilience Review, is being led by Emma Howard Boyd CBE, a UN Global Ambassador for the Race to Resilience and former Chair of the Environment Agency, who said “London needs to be climate ready”.

She reflected on last year’s heatwave when “London hospitals had to cancel operations as systems crashed in the record-breaking heat” and in 2021 when “flash flooding stopped people getting to work as roads and underground stations were inundated."

Speaking at the start of London Tech Week, the mayor said the review would explore technology, including AI, could help prevent climate change impacting the capital in the future.

The review will recommend what more can be done to protect against the consequences of climate change such as wildfires, flooding and extreme heat.

The number of wildfires in the UK is expected to rise in the future as experts told NationalWorld the nation will be “more like Mediterranean regions” seeing more days in the year with “very high” fire danger.

Dr Gareth Clay, Reader in Physical Geography at the University of Manchester, said the UK is likely to see “more extreme fire behaviour” including longer flame lengths, which will make “control and suppression more challenging”.

He warned that it is imperative to develop “new tools and systems to forecast severe wildfire conditions” over the coming years so that the UK can be better prepared for the growing risk of wildfires.