Friday 22 April 2011

UK issues warning as smog forms over London

A smog alert has been issued ahead of the Easter weekend, with air pollution levels rising dangerously high.
Tiny particles of soot, dust, dirt and noxious liquid droplets have gathered in such high concentrations in parts of the UK’s skies that they breach European safety limits.
Asthma sufferers, the young and the elderly could all be affected by highly polluted air inflaming their lungs and making breathing more difficult.

On the left, you can't see... St. Paul's Cathedral is barely visible through the smog on the London skyline as potentially dangerous levels of air pollution hit the capital over Easter


The health warning from the Government comes as Britain gears up for a double bank holiday bonanza, with glorious sunshine and temperatures higher than the Spanish Costas, the Greek islands and North Africa.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs advised the public to avoid taking short car journeys to reduce the build-up of ozone.
They also advised the public to take ‘sensible precautions’ in the polluted air including not exercising outside in the afternoon.

But with the great Easter getaway starting yesterday, it is likely that the guidance will fall on deaf ears.
The excessive number of microscopic particles of dirt, which would normally be dispelled by wind and rain when they build up near busy roads, has been triggered by the prolonged good weather, brought by a high pressure system sitting above the UK.
Figures from an air-monitoring site in Marylebone Road, central London, showed the spot had already exceeded EU rules for the number of days in the year in which the increased level of particles are permitted.

There are strict regulations for vehicle emissions as the dirt particles are recognised to be a major danger to human health, with long-term exposure causing cancer and damage to lung tissue.
The news put a dampener on preparations for the forthcoming royal wedding, a week today, as the millions of tourists converging on the capital will be breathing in overly polluted air.

The high pressure means the UK is on course to top temperatures of 26c (79f), making it the hottest Easter on record.

The ‘barbecue Easter’ follows an extraordinary month of warm sunny weather in England and Wales which has put this April on course to be the warmest on record.
The late Easter and the royal wedding have resulted in many families taking extended breaks, as employees need to take just three days off next week for an 11-day break, returning to work on Tuesday May 3.
The AA said traffic had been fairly spread out yesterday but warned: ‘The worst is probably yet to come.’

It estimated that 18million vehicles would be taking to the roads over this weekend and next, with traffic hotspots for motorists to avoid including the M3, M4, M5, M20 and M27 as well as major A roads to the coast.

However, there was better news on the fire-hit M1, which is now fully open, and the Highways Agency has suspended roadworks on a number of motorways to ease congestion.

About ten per cent of the rail network will be shut over Easter for engineering works which Network Rail prefers to call ‘improvement works’.

Although an estimated 85 per cent of the UK population chose to stay in Britain, Heathrow and Gatwick were both busy, with more than three million passengers passing through the two airports.

Throughout the UK there is a chance that some places could get isolated thundery showers.
However, for the most part it will remain dry and sunny until Tuesday when it will become cooler.

Met Office forecaster Sarah Holland said: ‘1984 was the warmest Easter weekend on record with temperatures of 23.7c in London.  

‘We’ve already topped that when we had the hottest day of the year so far on Wednesday, which saw temperatures reach 26.5c at Heathrow, so this weekend could be the warmest Easter weekend ever.’
Thousands of people flocked to coasts and parks around the country yesterday to soak up the sizzling weather.
St James's Park in central London hit 25.4C - eclipsing Rome and Athens.
The late Easter and the royal wedding mean employees only having to take only three days off next week to get an 11-day break, returning to work on Tuesday May 3.
Visa Europe says the 'Wills and Kate effect' has sparked a 104 per cent year-on-year rise in flight bookings from the UK in the two days before the wedding weekend.
And a quarter of British adults - 26 per cent - plan to take a trip involving at least one night away within the UK over the holiday period.
Travel companies home and abroad are enjoying a massive boost because of the wedding on April 29.
Families are set to spend more than £1billion celebrating the festivities during the break.
But drivers will struggle in the face of crippling fuel prices, with petrol up 43 per cent and diesel up 38 per cent compared to two years ago.
While Britain gloried in sunshine, those who had fled abroad in search of good weather were deluged with rain.

Tourists in Marbella had to don sou’westers to shelter from the showers. There was rain and clouds in Malaga, the Greek island of Corfu and Marrakech in Morocco with the temperature struggling to reach 17c (63f) .

Amy Garvey, 34, from Solihull, who is on holiday in Benidorm, said: ‘All my friends have been texting me from back home saying they’re in the park enjoying the sunshine. We can’t believe it.’

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