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Air quality
Defra works to control and manage
air quality across the UK. The UK Government and the devolved administrations published the latest Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 17 July 2007 - setting out a way forward for work and planning on air quality issues and the air quality standards and objectives to be achieved; introducing new policy framework for tackling fine particles and identifying potential new national policy measures which modelling indicates could give further health benefits and move closer towards meeting the Strategy’s objectives.
Latest
15 April 2010 - Icelandic volcano update (15 April)
3 March 2010: Publication of Air Pollution: Action in a Changing Climate (PDF 3.7 MB). This short document sets out how the UK can maximise health benefits by factoring air quality considerations into future action on climate change. The key messages in this document will help to shape the direction of the next air quality strategy.
17 December 2009: Publication of Air Pollution in the UK: 2008. This is the latest in a long-running series of annual reports summarising measurements from the UK's national air pollution monitoring networks. It includes detailed pollution data, trends, maps and analyses from January to December 2008.
17 December 2009 – Statistics release: UK Emissions of Air Pollutants - 2008 results 298/09. 2008 results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) for UK emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and ammonia.
Emissions of each of the four pollutants have fallen between 2007 and 2008, with decreases of 5 per cent for ammonia, 7 per cent for NMVOCs, 10 per cent for nitrogen oxides, and 14 per cent for sulphur dioxide. This represents a continuation of the long term trend of a reduction in emissions of these pollutants.
Since 1990, there have been decreases of 23 per cent for ammonia, 49 per cent for nitrogen oxides, 63 per cent for NMVOCs, and 86 per cent for sulphur dioxide.
Page last modified: 15 April 2010