Air pollution levels drop in Storrington

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) levels in the air have fallen from 26.1 micrograms per cubic metre to 19.6, new analysis reveals.

This is based on average readings taken in March 2019 and in March 2020, since people were told to work from home wherever possible.

The emissions were recorded at a monitoring station on the roadside in Storrington.

The BBC analysed average daily NO2 emissions at the monitoring station in the eight days since Boris Johnson told people they should work from home and compared it with the equivalent week last year.

Nitrogen dioxide, released from car exhausts, is a serious air pollutant and also indirectly contributes to the warming of the planet.

According to DEFRA, there is evidence high levels of NO₂ can inflame the airways in our lungs and, over a long period of time, affect how well they work.

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