Londoners have been advised to avoid strenuous physical activity in the city today due to extremely high levels of pollution.

According to the government’s forecast pollution levels will reach band 10 on the Air Quality Index, the highest level on the scale.

A combination of light winds and an intense area of high pressure currently covering western Europe has resulted in a lack of air movement across the city, which means emissions from motor vehicles and other pollutants will linger in the air for longer and won’t be as easily blown away.

Older people and those with heart or lung problems have been warned not to undertake strenuous physical activity, while even healthy people should “reduce physical exertion, particularly outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms such as a cough or sore throat”.

So who will suffer the most from these extremely high levels of pollution caused by massive car congestion? That’s right, cyclists.

Cycling commentator and writer Ned Boulting summed up the paradox at the heart of the government’s advice:

In effect, the government’s advice seems to boil down to: “Maybe best not to cycle into work today because of all the car fumes. Could you drive instead?”

The Guardian’s Peter Walker had another solution:

This week London’s mayor Sadiq Khan said car use in the city had almost returned to pre-pandemic levels and that “if we do not double down on our efforts to deliver a greener, more sustainable future, we will replace one public health crisis with another – caused by filthy air and gridlocked roads.”

Simon Birkett, Founder and Director of Clean Air in London, was even more blunt: "Londoners are literally stewing in their own juice with our own fumes trapped in still air for days. It is a stark reminder of how much we need to reduce building emissions as well as traffic emissions. Please do not burn wood on Friday!"

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-14-january-2022-289513#live-blog-item-30903