Manchester top of the pollution league
Manchester tops the Defra league of local authorities with illegally polluted air.
Government data shows air pollution in Manchester worsened in 2022.
The Government has published its latest data on the areas of the country that are still breathing illegal levels of the toxic gas Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2 ), and Manchester is top of the league, with pollution levels still on the rise.
According to Defra, Manchester recorded annual average (mean) concentrations of NO2 of 54μg/m3, above the UK legal limit of 40μg/m3 and more than five times the World Health Organization’s guideline of 10μg/m3.
Between 2019 to 2022, NO2 levels in the Greater Manchester urban area increased by 17% whereas the level in the Greater London Urban Area decreased by 42%, owing to the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone. Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Plan has been on pause since the Mayor scrapped the Clean Air Zone in early 2022. The government is yet to be convinced that the GMCA’s replacement plan will be sufficient and it’s not clear when any decisions on next steps will be taken.
Sarah Rowe, the Clean Cities Campaigner for Greater Manchester, said, “We're sad but not surprised to see Manchester top the league when it comes to one of the most toxic air pollutants, Nitrogen Dioxide. Car ownership is on the rise in Manchester and with other cities implementing clean air zones, we're getting the dirty diesel cars that aren't welcome elsewhere. Improved public transport is a key part of the solution and we celebrate the efforts to clean up the bus fleet but this data shows that we must urgently do more to reduce the excess numbers of dirty cars and vans in our city.
A generation of young people have had their health compromised as a result of the inertia and politicking that has got us here. But we also know that some of the solutions for cleaning up our air will also help us to build healthier, happier, stronger communities. That's what's at stake and we hope that these numbers will be a wake up call to our leaders that this is not what we want Manchester to be known for. Where’s the plan to clean up our air?”
Clean Cities research has shown that the number of private cars in Manchester increased by 31% between 2012 and 2022; 2.5 times the average increase in England over the same period.
Harry Gray from WalkRide GM said, “We are really supportive of GM’s ambition with the Bee Network as a one stop shop for all local public transport and active travel journeys. However, there needs to be more done to proactively disincentivise driving for shorter journeys, particularly around Manchester City Centre, whilst further increasing investment in active travel to make it easier and safer for people to walk, wheel and cycle, if we want to see pollution levels going down.”
Cazz Ward from Let’s Talk Clean Air said, “Asthma rates in the UK are one of the highest in Europe, affecting 1 in 11 children and are particularly high in Manchester. In 2022, admissions of children to hospital with asthma in Manchester were almost TWICE the national average. And we have to remember that this is an issue of social justice with those families without cars living closest to the most polluting roads and experiencing greater health inequalities, even though they create the least pollution. We need to do more and quicker to reduce the levels of NO2 in our city”
Pete Abel, Manchester Friends of the Earth said,"In 2016 the Government was instructed by the High Court to meet air quality limits in “the shortest time possible”. Seven years later, the GM Clean Air Plan is effectively on 'pause’ and even before the latest delays, the revised GM Clean Air Plan did not expect to meet the legal limits until 2026/7.
But legal limits are not safe health limits. In September 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) drastically reduced their guidance for limits on air pollution levels because of the increasing research evidence of the health harms that air pollution causes.
Greater Manchester is a World Health Organization Breathe Life City region and has pledged to meet the WHO air quality levels by 2030. We need our political leaders – both national and in Greater Manchester - to show more ambition to tackle dirty air pollution."
Analysis by Friends of the Earth showed that every single neighbourhood in Manchester is breathing air that is above the WHO guideline limit for NO2.
