Nitrogen dioxide on Euston Road still above legal limits despite improvements across Camden

Air pollution at three of the four automatic air quality monitoring sites in Camden is down from previous yearly levels, but Euston Road still exceeds the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

In its one year progress update on the Camden Clean Air Action Plan 2023-2026, council officers reported that for PM2.5 particulate matter “all sites [are] now meeting the Council’s 2030 interim target”.

For NO2, the automatic monitoring sites at Russell Square and Camden High Street had already met the Council’s 2026 interim target of 30µg/m3.

However, the 2023 annual mean level of NO2 at Euston Road was 46μg/m3, six points higher than the UK legal limit, and 16 points above the 2026 interim target set out in the Action Plan.

In its Action Plan Camden has committed to air quality targets of 10μg/m3 for NO2 and 5μg/m3 for PM2.5 by 2034, based on the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines published in 2021. To measure progress, interim targets have been set for 2026 and 2030.

Air pollution data is recorded hourly by Camden Council, with recordings revealing that October 2023 had the highest levels of pollution at 56.1μg/m3. The lowest was in May at 38.8μg/m3.

“Euston road is one of the most polluted roads in the country”, said Camden Council’s air quality programme manager Tom Parkes. He attributed the air quality improvements in the area to Ulez and the “cleaner” cars which are now being manufactured.

After a spike in 2022, air pollution monitors in Swiss Cottage have recorded the area as below the council target of 30ug/m³ for the first time.

Camden High Street and Bloomsbury’s Russel Square, two of the other three sites monitored by Camden Council, had already reached the Council’s target.

These sites “typically reflect some of our most polluted areas in the borough”, said Parkes, who explained the air quality programme team “use that data as demonstrating the worst-case scenario of what air quality might be like in Camden”.

Of Camden’s Clear Air Action Plan 2023-2026, two thirds of the initiatives have been actioned or completed. These include securing £170,000 in Defra Air Quality Grant funding for the Clean Air for Schools programme, to commence in early 2024 and initiatives tackling air pollution from wood burning.

The remaining 30 percent of outstanding initiatives include reducing emissions from construction site generators and standby diesel generators and working with NHS to undertake anti-idling engagements in the vicinity of hospitals and healthcare centres.

Camden Council, Culture and Environment Scrutiny Committee – Monday, 15 July 2024. Agenda, webcast. | Camden Council air quality page.

Additional reporting by Linus Rees.