Air quality

When COVID hit (2020), there was a marked reduction in vehicle traffic and industrial activity. This led to a major fall in pollution levels over that period. Notably, pollution levels are still lower than those seen in 2019.

Public Health England advise that poor air quality is the largest risk to public health from the environment. This is because long-term exposure to air pollution can cause chronic conditions that lead to reduced life expectancy, like:

• cardiovascular and respiratory diseases;
• and lung cancer.

By law we must assess air quality against a number of pollutants, so we measure:

• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
• PM10 particulate matter.
• PM2.5 particulate matter.

We monitor these as they are linked to road traffic, which is one of the main sources of Calderdale's pollution. We have a network of stations for this, which include three real time monitors that provide daily data. These are at:

• Hebden Bridge;
• Sowerby Bridge;
• and Salterhebble.

To see these on a map, please visit: Pollution Chambers.

Sources of air pollution Health and air quality Pollution alerts	Image
Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) Report air pollution	Image
Indoor air quality	Image
Schools and air quality	Image
Smoke pollution	Image
Air Quality Reports ASR Report Air Quality Action Plans West Yorkshire Low Emissions Strategy (WYLES)	Image

National Air Quality (UK AIR)

Forecast

For a national daily UK forecast, visit: Pollution forecast.

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Daily index

For levels of air pollution, actions you can take and health advice, visit: Daily Air Quality Index.

Pollution alerts

UK AIR provide an alert service based on a forecast of expected air quality for the same or following day. This is to help people to plan ahead.

• Visit: Pollution alerts & notifications.

These are issued when any of these thresholds are exceeded:

• Ozone Information 180 µg/m3 for 1 hour.
• Ozone Alert 240 µg/m3 for 1 hour.
• Sulphur Dioxide Alert 500 µg/m3 for 3 hours in a row over 100km2 area.
• Nitrogen Dioxide Alert 400 µg/m3 for 3 hours in a row over 100km2 area.

Note: Alerts are displayed for a 24 hours.

Useful links

• National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). Estimates of emissions from UK sources like cars, lorries, power stations and industrial plants.
• Causes of air pollution.

Report smoky or idling vehicles

If you see a vehicle that is parked with the engine running for a long time, report it.

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