§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Autumn Performance Report 2002, why the number of days of poor air quality in both urban and rural areas rose by approximately 20 per cent from 2000 to 2001. [HL1405]
§ Lord WhittyThe number of days of poor air quality fluctuates from one year to the next because of differences in weather conditions. Adverse weather conditions can increase the number of high pollution episodes, which can cause an increase in the number of poor air quality days. The increase in the number of days of poor air quality in 2001 compared to 2000 was due to differences in the weather between the two years.
There has been a long-term decline in the number of urban air pollution days mainly due to decreasing pollutant emissions from road traffic, electricity generation and industry in response to progressively tighter government standards and controls in these sectors. There is no clear trend in the number of rural air pollution days. This reflects the variability of ground level ozone, the main cause of pollution in rural areas.
The long-term improvement in urban air quality continued in 2002. In urban areas in 2002, days when air pollution was recorded as moderate or higher are provisionally estimated to be 14 days on average per site, compared with 24 days in 2001, 19 days in 2000 and 59 days in 1993. In rural areas, the provisional figure for 2002 is 23 days on average per site, compared with 30 in 2001. The number of days has fluctuated between 19 days in 1987 and 48 days in 1990.