London's air cleanest for 10 years

LONDON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- London's air quality is within legal limits for the first time in ten years, the capital's mayor Sadiq Khan said Monday.

Khan revealed that for the first time since modern records began London was entering the third week of January without having breached legal limits for toxic nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution.

Every year for the last decade, London's toxic air has exceeded legal hourly air pollution limits by Jan. 6 and often by Jan. 3, said City Hall in a statement.

However, a spokesperson for Khan said London's air quality is still likely to exceed the NO2 hourly limit later this month. Recent City Hall analysis shows every part of London has exceeded World Health Organisation guidelines for dangerous particles (PM2.5).

The mayor's spokesperson said the improvement in London's filthy air quality can be partly attributed to the hard-hitting measures Khan has introduced since he was elected, including the Toxicity Charge (T-Charge) for older, dirtier cars in central London and targeting the most polluted bus routes by delivering the first in a series of Low Emission Bus Zones.

"The Mayor is doing everything in his power to tackle London's harmful air quality and has confirmed that even stronger vehicle emission standards will apply when the central London Ultra-Low Emission Zone is launched in April 2019, 17 months earlier than planned," added the spokesperson.

The mayor is currently consulting on reducing toxic emissions by expanding clean air zones and introducing tougher London-wide standards for heavy vehicles such as buses, coaches and lorries from 2020. Enditem