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London Pollution Worse Than Beijing as Mayor Extends Alert

With a lack of wind to blow emissions away, residents of the British capital are saying the air is so bad you can taste it

Pollution seen from Primrose Hill in London on March 24.

Pollution seen from Primrose Hill in London on March 24.

Photographer: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
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London’s Mayor extended the first air quality warning since August 2020 for another day after pollution levels mushroomed throughout the week.

A cocktail of high atmospheric pressure, little wind and peak farming season emissions made London’s air quality worse than Beijing’s on Friday. While pollution normally rolls into London from central and southern Europe at this time of the year, there’s currently a lack of wind to blow emissions out of the city, according to Andrew Grieve, senior air quality analyst at Imperial College London’s Environmental Research Group.