What Is Responsible for Causing the UK’s Worst Pollution Event in 10 Years?

At the end of March and the beginning of April 2014, the UK suffered its highest pollution levels for a decade with alarmingly elevated levels of the harmful substance particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5). At the time, the government blamed the poor air quality on dust being blown across the sea from the Sahara Desert, a theory which was given much credence by the mainstream media.

However, a new study has discovered that while the Saharan dust may have contributed in part to the pollution crisis, there were far greater contributing factors which exclude the possibility of explaining away the event as a natural phenomenon.

Only Half the Story

The poor air quality levels led to the Met Office and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) both warning people to stay indoors and even prompted the Prime Minister to dispense with his usual morning run. At the time, the explanation for the crisis pounced upon by the media at large was that the PM2.5 had been blown across the sea from plumes of Saharan dust.

Mr Cameron would later go on to use the Saharan dust theory as something of an excuse for not taking environmental action to bring down pollution levels. “It is unpleasant, and you can feel it in the air,” he explained to the BBC. “But it’s a naturally occurring weather phenomenon. It sounds extraordinary, Saharan dust, but that is what it is.”

However, the authors of this latest study were able to determine that the Saharan dust storm only affected a small region of southwest England – and that furthermore, it only came into play towards the end of the two-week crisis. Instead, they pointed the finger at continental European agriculture.

The study claims that ammonia particles, spread via the use of manure and fertilisers overseas, reacted with local contaminants (caused by road traffic and the suchlike) and compacted into dense particles, capable of traversing vast distances. It is exactly for reasons such as these that many environmentalists have been pushing for the use of digestate as an organic fertiliser, which could provide many benefits to the atmosphere.

Criticism for the Government

The study comes hot on the heels of news that the government has been pressing Brussels to reduce their ammonia emissions targets, which have already been negotiated down to 11% from the initial agreement of 24%. As such, these revelations have met with outcry from certain concerned quarters.

In particular, the environmental law firm Client Earth has been very critical of the government’s actions. In fact, the firm are still locked in an ongoing court battle over what it sees as the Conservatives reluctance to reduce transport-related pollution and improve air quality for millions of Britons.

“This proves what many of us suspected at the time – politicians blamed the smog on Saharan dust when it was really caused by man-made pollution. By dismissing this as a natural phenomenon, the government was able to dodge taking any action. This is a betrayal of the thousands of people who are dying early each year in the UK from being forced to breathe dangerous levels of pollution,” explained Alan Andrews, a Client Earth employee.  

“Instead of lobbying in Brussels for weaker pollution targets, our government should be working with our European neighbours to cut pollution across the continent and acting to reduce the home-grown pollution which chokes our towns and cities on a daily basis.”