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Writer's pictureLondon Fact Check

Fact Check: ULEZ expansion has a negligible effect on air quality

The claim:

Sadiq Khan: "By expanding the ULEZ, 5 million more people in Greater London will be able to breathe cleaner air."


Analysis:

This is misleading. The ULEZ expansion will have a negligible effect on air quality, according to the Mayor's own independent impact assessment.


The annual mean concentration of nitrogen oxides (NO₂) in outer London will drop only by 0.3µg/m3, from 20.2 to 19.9, a negligible change.


There will be no measurable effect on particulates (PM2.5), one of the most harmful forms of air pollution, which remains at 10.1µg/m3 regardless of whether the ULEZ expansion is implemented or not.


Academic research has also found the existing ULEZ delivered only small improvements in air quality, in the context of a longer-term downward trend in London's air pollution levels (Ma et al, 2021).







1 comment

1 Comment


Michael Hinford
Michael Hinford
Jul 21, 2023

342,000 fewer people will be above the WHO limits for NO2 in Outer London with the expanded ULEZ. This is from the same report you are quoting.

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