If you’re in a high risk group, please sign up for an automatic text advisory service for spikes of bad air pollution.
But different areas also have different ongoing or ‘baseline’ levels of air pollution.
Please don’t assume you live in a ‘clean air’ area!
I can see one of the top ten trees in London from my front door. It’s in a lovely little park full of trees. And theres a much bigger park wih more trees two minutes in the other direction.
But look how bad it is where I live:
Put your postcode into https://addresspollution.org/, and you will receive an overall rating for Local air pollution.
The ‘percentiles’ are a measure of how bad it is:
When the whole country is ranked, I live somewhere which is at the 98% level of badness.
If you keep clicking on the website, you can get estimates for some Personalised Health Risks in your local area.
https://right-to-know.org/ also gives information about other sorts of pollution, including summer heat, night light, noise, and deprivation. Scroll down to submit your postcode.
Right-to-know averages out results from the top 10% worst results – which “creates a more accurate health risk narrative, particularly for vulnerable populations”.
SO WHAT TO DO?
Please DON’T assume you live in a ‘clean air’ area.
Find out the truth by checking out one or both of these simple websites.
Check your home AND work addresses.
Remember there are NO safe levels of air pollution.
Now use the resources here about transport, work places, and home to help you decide what you can do NOW to reduce your exposure to air pollution.
Use your local knowledge of how you might best make a difference for you and your family.
I recommend you start with JUST ONE THING – you can always come back and do more later.
Be very specific – like in my top ten recommendations.