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Air Quality in the UK

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A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2021) | Viewed by 79706

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Fabio Galatioto

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Guest Editor

Connected Places Catapult, Milton Keynes MK9 1BP, UK
Interests: monitoring; modelling and predictions; indoor/outdoor air quality; pollutants emissions; transport strategies and planning; sustainable transport; transport modes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Prashant Kumar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Global Center for Clean Air Research (GCARE), School of Sustainability, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK
Interests: urban air quality; airborne nano/ultrafine particles; aerosols; wind engineering; city, megacities and health; exposure assessment, modelling and inequalities; indoor air quality; energy-pollution nexus; airborne nanoparticles and nanomaterials; transport emission and modelling; air pollution dispersion modelling; technological pollution control and environmental policies; green infrastructure interventions and health mapping
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Francis Pope

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Interests: atmospheric sciences; human health; sustainable cities; air pollution; climate change; fundamental aerosol chemistry and microphysics; city resilience
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cities, urban areas and large indoor spaces are the places where people and the economy of a Country grow, however those same places are known to be subject to the highest level of air pollution. According to World Health Organization 90% of people are exposed to unsafe air, and breathing it in is killing nearly 9 million people a year and harming billions more. The number of early deaths caused by air pollution has doubled previous estimates, meaning toxic air is now killing more people than tobacco, making air pollution the third highest cause of death globally. In the UK, according to a 2016 report from the Royal College of Physicians, up to 40,000 additional deaths and a cut in lifespan of up to 2 years were linked to air pollution exposure.

This is why research, applications, technology and innovation in the Air Quality subject, spanning from monitoring to modelling, from impact assessment to exposure quantification are more than ever needed to mitigate and solve in the long-term this global issue and enable clean and sustainable economic growth.

Over recent years, the UK has implemented more stringent policies (e.g. Clean Air Strategy and related Clean Air Zones, and recently The Environment Bill) as well as funded several research and innovation projects across the Country, but also applied research through EU and International initiatives in UK Demonstration Cities. For that, this Special Issue wants to give the opportunity to Academia, SMEs, Industry, Local Authorities and relevant Agencies to publish their original research or review on the subject of Air Quality in the UK and identify new technologies which can be used to address the problem.

Dr. Fabio Galatioto
Prof. Dr. Prashant Kumar
Prof. Francis Pope
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Air quality/emissions monitoring, low-cost sensing, modelling and mapping;
Applications of innovative technologies to reduce emissions and/or pollutants concentration and citizen science to limit exposure of public;
Implementation of urban strategies/policies to improve outdoor air quality;
Indoor air quality (residential, business, measurements, modelling, impacts, in-out flow, …);
Road, rail, maritime and aviation pollution sources and their individual or cumulative air quality impacts;
Non-transport related air quality (e.g. major urban sources, innovation in industrial air pollution abatement, …);
Clean growth and economic implication of poor air quality (indoor and outdoor, implications on productivity, ….);
Air quality human exposure (epidemiology, biomonitoring technologies, impacts of ultra-fine particles on human health, short- and long-term implications, ….)

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

10 pages, 1480 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Changes in Personal Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter (PM_2.5) during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown in the UK: Results of a Simulation Model

by Ruaraidh Dobson, Douglas Eadie, Rachel O’Donnell, Martine Stead, John W. Cherrie and Sean Semple

Atmosphere 2022, 13(2), 273; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos13020273 - 05 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1740

Abstract

Objectives: Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to behaviour changes in the UK’s population, including a sudden shift towards working from home. These changes may have affected overall exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), an air pollutant and source of health harm. We report the results of a simulation model of a representative sample of the UK’s population, including workers and non-workers, to estimate PM_2.5 exposure before and during the pandemic. Methods: PM_2.5 exposure was simulated in April and August 2017–2020 for 10,000 individuals across the UK drawn from the 2011 nationwide census. These data were combined with data from the UK’s ambient PM_2.5 monitoring network, time use data and data on relevant personal behaviour before and during the first stage of the pandemic (such as changes in smoking and cooking). Results: The simulated exposures were significantly different between each year. Changes in ambient PM_2.5 resulted in regional and temporal variation. People living in homes where someone smoked experienced higher exposure than those in smoke-free homes, with an increase of 4 µg/m³ in PM_2.5 exposure in 2020. Conclusions: Changes in PM_2.5 exposure were minimal for most individuals despite the simulated increases in cooking activity. Those living in smoking homes (estimated to be around 11% of the UK population) experienced increased exposure to PM_2.5 during COVID lockdown measures and this is likely to have increased mortality and morbidity among this group. Government policy should address the risk of increased exposure to second-hand smoke in the event of future COVID-19-related restrictions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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14 pages, 2088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Satellite Data Applications for Site-Specific Air Quality Regulation in the UK: Pilot Study and Prospects

by Daniel A. Potts, Emma J. S. Ferranti, Roger Timmis, Andrew S. Brown and Joshua D. Vande Hey

Atmosphere 2021, 12(12), 1659; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12121659 - 10 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3258

Abstract

Atmospheric composition data from satellite platforms offers great potential for improving current understanding of anthropogenic emissions. Whilst this data has been used extensively in research, its use by governments to regulate and assess site-specific legislation compliance is minimal. Here, we outline the regulatory context for air quality regulation in the UK, and present a pilot study highlighting the potential of current instruments. The pilot study demonstrates the capabilities and limitations of the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) for detecting and isolating emissions of NO₂ from regulated UK point sources. This study successfully isolated NO₂ emissions from a cluster of three closely situated regulated sites in the north east of England, despite their proximity to large urban sources. This is the first time these sites have been resolved from satellite-based observations, and serves as a clear demonstration of the potential of current and future Earth observation data products for site-specific monitoring and investigation within the UK. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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18 pages, 3022 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Gaussian Process Method with Uncertainty Quantification for Air Quality Monitoring

by Peng Wang, Lyudmila Mihaylova, Rohit Chakraborty, Said Munir, Martin Mayfield, Khan Alam, Muhammad Fahim Khokhar, Zhengkai Zheng, Chengxi Jiang and Hui Fang

Atmosphere 2021, 12(10), 1344; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12101344 - 14 Oct 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2151

Abstract

The monitoring and forecasting of particulate matter (e.g.,

{PM}_{2.5}

) and gaseous pollutants (e.g., NO,

{NO}_{2}

, and

{SO}_{2}

) is of significant importance, as they have adverse impacts on human health. However, model performance can easily degrade due to [...] Read more.

The monitoring and forecasting of particulate matter (e.g.,

{PM}_{2.5}

) and gaseous pollutants (e.g., NO,

{NO}_{2}

, and

{SO}_{2}

) is of significant importance, as they have adverse impacts on human health. However, model performance can easily degrade due to data noises, environmental and other factors. This paper proposes a general solution to analyse how the noise level of measurements and hyperparameters of a Gaussian process model affect the prediction accuracy and uncertainty, with a comparative case study of atmospheric pollutant concentrations prediction in Sheffield, UK, and Peshawar, Pakistan. The Neumann series is exploited to approximate the matrix inverse involved in the Gaussian process approach. This enables us to derive a theoretical relationship between any independent variable (e.g., measurement noise level, hyperparameters of Gaussian process methods), and the uncertainty and accuracy prediction. In addition, it helps us to discover insights on how these independent variables affect the algorithm evidence lower bound. The theoretical results are verified by applying a Gaussian processes approach and its sparse variants to air quality data forecasting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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19 pages, 9112 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Air Flow Experiments on a Train Carriage—Towards Understanding the Risk of Airborne Transmission

by Huw Woodward, Shiwei Fan, Rajesh K. Bhagat, Maksim Dadonau, Megan Davies Wykes, Elizabeth Martin, Sarkawt Hama, Arvind Tiwari, Stuart B. Dalziel, Roderic L. Jones, Prashant Kumar and Paul F. Linden

Atmosphere 2021, 12(10), 1267; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12101267 - 29 Sep 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3930

Abstract

A series of experiments was undertaken on an intercity train carriage aimed at providing a “proof of concept” for three methods in improving our understanding of airflow behaviour and the accompanied dispersion of exhaled droplets. The methods used included the following: measuring CO₂ concentrations as a proxy for exhaled breath, measuring the concentrations of different size fractions of aerosol particles released from a nebuliser, and visualising the flow patterns at cross-sections of the carriage by using a fog machine and lasers. Each experiment succeeded in providing practical insights into the risk of airborne transmission. For example, it was shown that the carriage is not well mixed over its length, however, it is likely to be well mixed along its height and width. A discussion of the suitability of the fresh air supply rates on UK train carriages is also provided, drawing on the CO₂ concentrations measured during these experiments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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16 pages, 2804 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Real-World Contribution of Electrification and Replacement Scenarios to the Fleet Emissions in West Midland Boroughs, UK

by Louisa K. Osei, Omid Ghaffarpasand and Francis D. Pope

Atmosphere 2021, 12(3), 332; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12030332 - 04 Mar 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2488

Abstract

This study reports the likely real-world effects of fleet replacement with electric vehicles (EVs) and higher efficiency EURO 6 vehicles on the exhaustive emissions of NO_x, PM, and CO₂ in the seven boroughs of the West Midlands (WM) region, UK. National fleet composition data, local EURO distributions, and traffic compositions were used to project vehicle fleet compositions for different roads in each borough. A large dataset of real-world emission factors including over 90,000 remote-sensing measurements, obtained from remote sensing campaigns in five UK cities, was used to parameterize the emission profiles of the studied scenarios. Results show that adoption of the fleet electrification approach would have the highest emission reduction potential on urban roads in WM boroughs. It would result in maximum reductions ranging from 35.0 to 37.9%, 44.3 to 48.3%, and 46.9 to 50.3% for NO_x, PM, and CO₂, respectively. In comparison, the EURO 6 replacement fleet scenario would lead to reductions ranging from 10.0 to 10.4%, 4.0 to 4.2%, and 6.0 to 6.4% for NO_x, PM, and CO₂, respectively. The studied mitigation scenarios have higher efficacies on motorways compared to rural and urban roads because of the differences in traffic fleet composition. The findings presented will help policymakers choose climate and air quality mitigation strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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16 pages, 3119 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Road Emissions in London: Insights from Geographically Detailed Classification and Regression Modelling

by Alexandros Sfyridis and Paolo Agnolucci

Atmosphere 2021, 12(2), 188; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12020188 - 30 Jan 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2780

Abstract

Greenhouse gases and air pollutant emissions originating from road transport continues to rise in the UK, indicating a significant contribution to climate change and negative impacts on human health and ecosystems. However, emissions are usually estimated at aggregated levels, and on many occasions roads of minor importance are not taken into account, normally due to lack of traffic counts. This paper presents a methodology enabling estimation of air pollutants and CO₂ for each street segment in the Greater London area. This is achieved by applying a hybrid probabilistic classification–regression approach on a set of variables believed to affect traffic volumes and utilizing emission factors. The output reveals pollution hot spots and the effects of open spaces in a spatially rich dataset. Considering the disaggregated approach, the methodology can be used to facilitate policy making for both local and national aggregated levels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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20 pages, 7573 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding Spatial Variability of NO₂ in Urban Areas Using Spatial Modelling and Data Fusion Approaches

by Said Munir, Martin Mayfield and Daniel Coca

Atmosphere 2021, 12(2), 179; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12020179 - 29 Jan 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2284

Abstract

Small-scale spatial variability in NO₂ concentrations is analysed with the help of pollution maps. Maps of NO₂ estimated by the Airviro dispersion model and land use regression (LUR) model are fused with measured NO₂ concentrations from low-cost sensors (LCS), reference sensors and diffusion tubes. In this study, geostatistical universal kriging was employed for fusing (integrating) model estimations with measured NO₂ concentrations. The results showed that the data fusion approach was capable of estimating realistic NO₂ concentration maps that inherited spatial patterns of the pollutant from the model estimations and adjusted the modelled values using the measured concentrations. Maps produced by the fusion of NO₂-LCS with NO₂-LUR produced better results, with r-value 0.96 and RMSE 9.09. Data fusion adds value to both measured and estimated concentrations: the measured data are improved by predicting spatiotemporal gaps, whereas the modelled data are improved by constraining them with observed data. Hotspots of NO₂ were shown in the city centre, eastern parts of the city towards the motorway (M1) and on some major roads. Air quality standards were exceeded at several locations in Sheffield, where annual mean NO₂ levels were higher than 40 µg/m³. Road traffic was considered to be the dominant emission source of NO₂ in Sheffield. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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13 pages, 3072 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mobile Monitoring for the Spatial and Temporal Assessment of Local Air Quality (NO₂) in the City of London

by Fabio Galatioto, James Ferguson-Moore and Ruth Calderwood

Atmosphere 2021, 12(1), 106; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12010106 - 13 Jan 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2233

Abstract

This paper reports on the analysis and findings of the data collected during a mobile air quality campaign commissioned by the City of London Corporation (CoL). This was done using an equipped vehicle capable of taking continuous precision measurements of local air quality while travelling within the City. Several comparative analyses on measured Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) data have been performed between Smogmobile data and those available from CoL precision systems as well as with indicative systems, namely Diffusion Tubes, distributed across the City. Key findings highlight that data collected from the Smogmobile, in terms of average concentration of NO₂ across the City (62 µg/m³), are very similar to those obtained by averaging the values from the 48 indicative systems (59.5 µg/m³), with an error of just 4%. Overall, this study demonstrates significant potential and value in using mobile air quality measurements to support assessment of air quality over large areas by Local authorities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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25 pages, 4803 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Indoor Air Pollution from Residential Stoves: Examining the Flooding of Particulate Matter into Homes during Real-World Use

by Rohit Chakraborty, James Heydon, Martin Mayfield and Lyudmila Mihaylova

Atmosphere 2020, 11(12), 1326; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11121326 - 07 Dec 2020

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 42672

Abstract

This study concerns the levels of particulate matter (

{PM}_{2.5}

and

{PM}_{1}

This study concerns the levels of particulate matter (

{PM}_{2.5}

and

{PM}_{1}

) released by residential stoves inside the home during ‘real world’ use. Focusing on stoves that were certified by the UK’s Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), PM sensors were placed in the vicinity of 20 different stoves over four weeks, recording 260 uses. The participants completed a research diary in order to provide information on time lit, amount and type of fuel used, and duration of use, among other details. Multivariate statistical tools were used in order to analyse indoor PM concentrations, averages, intensities, and their relationship to aspects of stove management. The study has four core findings. First, the daily average indoor PM concentrations when a stove was used were higher for

{PM}_{2.5}

by 196.23% and

{PM}_{1}

by 227.80% than those of the non-use control group. Second, hourly peak averages are higher for

{PM}_{2.5}

by 123.91% and for

{PM}_{1}

by 133.09% than daily averages, showing that PM is ‘flooding’ into indoor areas through normal use. Third, the peaks that are derived from these ’flooding’ incidents are associated with the number of fuel pieces used and length of the burn period. This points to the opening of the stove door as a primary mechanism for introducing PM into the home. Finally, it demonstrates that the indoor air pollution being witnessed is not originating from outside the home. Taken together, the study demonstrates that people inside homes with a residential stove are at risk of exposure to high intensities of

{PM}_{2.5}

and

{PM}_{1}

within a short period of time through normal use. It is recommended that this risk be reflected in the testing and regulation of residential stoves. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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19 pages, 4735 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Nonlinear Land Use Regression Approach for Modelling NO₂ Concentrations in Urban Areas—Using Data from Low-Cost Sensors and Diffusion Tubes

by Said Munir, Martin Mayfield, Daniel Coca and Lyudmila S Mihaylova

Atmosphere 2020, 11(7), 736; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11070736 - 11 Jul 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3179

Abstract

Land Use Regression (LUR) based on multiple linear regression model is one of the techniques used most frequently for modelling the spatial variability of air pollution and assessing exposure in urban areas. In this paper, a nonlinear generalised additive model is proposed for LUR and its performance is compared to a linear model in Sheffield, UK for the year 2019. Pollution models were estimated using NO₂ measurements obtained from 188 diffusion tubes and 40 low-cost sensors. Performance of the models was assessed by calculating several statistical metrics including correlation coefficient (R) and root mean square error (RMSE). High resolution (100 m × 100 m) maps demonstrated higher levels of NO₂ in the city centre, eastern side of the city and on major roads. The results showed that the nonlinear model outperformed the linear counterpart and that the model estimated using NO₂ data from diffusion tubes outperformed the models using data from low-cost sensors or both low-cost sensors and diffusion tubes. The proposed method provides a basis for further application of advanced nonlinear modelling approaches to constructing LUR models in urban areas which enable quantifying small scale variability in pollution levels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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Review

Jump to: Research

24 pages, 2625 KiB

Open AccessReview

Current State of Indoor Air Phytoremediation Using Potted Plants and Green Walls

by Samaneh Bandehali, Taghi Miri, Helen Onyeaka and Prashant Kumar

Atmosphere 2021, 12(4), 473; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12040473 - 09 Apr 2021

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 10500

Abstract

Urban civilization has a high impact on the environment and human health. The pollution level of indoor air can be 2–5 times higher than the outdoor air pollution, and sometimes it reaches up to 100 times or more in natural/mechanical ventilated buildings. Even though people spend about 90% of their time indoors, the importance of indoor air quality is less noticed. Indoor air pollution can be treated with techniques such as chemical purification, ventilation, isolation, and removing pollutions by plants (phytoremediation). Among these techniques, phytoremediation is not given proper attention and, therefore, is the focus of our review paper. Phytoremediation is an affordable and more environmentally friendly means to purify polluted indoor air. Furthermore, studies show that indoor plants can be used to regulate building temperature, decrease noise levels, and alleviate social stress. Sources of indoor air pollutants and their impact on human health are briefly discussed in this paper. The available literature on phytoremediation, including experimental works for removing volatile organic compound (VOC) and particulate matter from the indoor air and associated challenges and opportunities, are reviewed. Phytoremediation of indoor air depends on the physical properties of plants such as interfacial areas, the moisture content, and the type (hydrophobicity) as well as pollutant characteristics such as the size of particulate matter (PM). A comprehensive summary of plant species that can remove pollutants such as VOCs and PM is provided. Sources of indoor air pollutants, as well as their impact on human health, are described. Phytoremediation and its mechanism of cleaning indoor air are discussed. The potential role of green walls and potted-plants for improving indoor air quality is examined. A list of plant species suitable for indoor air phytoremediation is proposed. This review will help in making informed decisions about integrating plants into the interior building design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality in the UK)

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