Where to Find Information about Air

Pollution

Date: November 2024

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We are the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We are responsible for

improving and protecting the environment, growing the green economy, sustaining thriving

rural communities and supporting our world-class food, farming and fishing industries.

We work closely with our 33 agencies and arm’s length bodies on our ambition to make

our air purer, our water cleaner, our land greener and our food more sustainable. Our

mission is to restore and enhance the environment for the next generation, and to leave

the environment in a better state than we found it.

This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. To view this

licence, visit https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at

AQIE.Correspondence@defra.gov.uk

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-

affairs

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Contents 
Where to Find Information about Air Pollution ..................................................................... 1 
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 4 
What public information is available? ................................................................................... 5 
UK-AIR website ................................................................................................................ 5 
Air Quality Websites for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland ....................................... 7 
Defra web pages .............................................................................................................. 7 
Twitter ............................................................................................................................... 8 
E-mail Bulletins ................................................................................................................. 9 
Freephone Air Pollution Bulletin Service .......................................................................... 9 
Air Pollution in the UK Reports ......................................................................................... 9 
About the Daily Air Quality Index ....................................................................................... 10 
Other sources of Information ............................................................................................. 11 
   

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Introduction

Many people are concerned about pollution in the air that they breathe: These may

include:

• People with heart or lung conditions, or other breathing problems, whose health

may be affected by air pollution.

• Parents, carers and healthcare professionals who look after someone whose health

is sensitive to pollution.

• People who want to know more about air pollution, its causes, and what they can

do to help reduce it.

• The scientific community and students, who may need data on air pollution levels,

either now or in the past, throughout the UK.

Free, detailed, clear and easy to use information on air pollution in the UK is available for

all these purposes. It is provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural

Affairs (Defra), together with the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland.

This booklet provides a guide to the air quality information that is available, and how to

access and use it. It explains:

• What information on air quality is available to the public, and what each information

resource provides.

• The Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) used in pollution forecasts and summaries.

• Other sources of information which may be useful.

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What public information is available?

UK-AIR website

Defra provides air quality information online, via its UK Air Information Resource website

(UK-AIR), at https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/.

On UK-AIR, you can find:

• Latest measured air quality. This shows a “nowcast” – levels of air pollution at the

present time, for the UK divided into 16 regions. By clicking on the region displayed

on the map more information can be obtained about the current air pollution levels.

This includes a break-down of the air pollution levels in towns and cities near busier

roads, elsewhere in towns and cities, and rural areas. The concentrations used to

provide this nowcast are from the national monitoring networks which can be

viewed via an interactive map.

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•  Summary of Air Pollution Levels in UK: A summary (low, moderate and high) of 
air pollution levels across the UK, showing the number of monitoring stations in 
each band.  
•  Forecasts: Defra provide forecasts of expected air pollution (using the Daily Air 
Quality Index, DAQI) over 5-days. Forecast maps and general air pollution outlooks 
are provided for towns and villages searchable by the interactive map or by a 
postcode search. 
•  Air Pollution Alerts: Defra provides information on any air pollution alerts related 
to ozone, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. 
•  Historical Data from the UK’s national networks of air pollution monitoring sites can 
be downloaded from the UK-AIR data archive. Data from the oldest automatic 
monitoring sites go back to 1972, and there are data going back to 1961 from sites 
using simpler non-automatic monitoring techniques. 
•  Information on the UK’s Air Quality Monitoring networks: UK-AIR provides 
information on how air quality is measured in the UK. This includes an interactive 
map showing site details of all the monitoring sites including their precise locations, 
the pollutants measured there and other relevant information regarding the vicinity.  
•  UK Air Quality Legislation and Policy: This provides a summary of national 
Government legislation and Local Authority level legislation and policies. 
•  Information on Science and Research into Air Pollution: The UK-AIR library at 
https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/ and Science & Research https://uk-
air.defra.gov.uk/research/ pages provide a comprehensive resource of the latest 
scientific and policy documents related to air pollution in the UK. 
 
   

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Air Quality Websites for Scotland, Wales and 
Northern Ireland 
Each of these regions has its own dedicated air quality website: 
•  Air Quality in Scotland, provided by the Scottish Government: 
https://www.scottishairquality.co.uk/  
•  Air Quality in Wales, provided by the Welsh Government: 
https://www.welshairquality.co.uk/ .  
•  Northern Ireland Air, provided by the Department of Environment in Northern 
Ireland: https://www.airqualityni.co.uk/ 
Each website contains information and data on air pollution from the region, air pollution 
forecasts, air quality news and reports for the region and educational pages where children 
and youths can learn about air pollution.  
 
Defra web pages  
Defra provides online information on environmental topics including air quality. The Defra 
air quality web pages provide information on the following topics:  
•  The UK’s strategy to reduce emissions from transport, homes, farming and industry 
(The Clean Air Strategy 2019).  
•  Accredited Official Statistics for the emissions of air pollutants and for air quality 
•  Health effects of air quality by Public Health England. 
•  Air quality research and statistics. 
Defra also provides pages on: 
•  Sources, impacts and advice on reducing air pollution: 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-quality-explaining-air-pollution/air-
quality-explaining-air-pollution-at-a-glance 
•  Local Air Quality Management (action at local authority level to improve air quality): 
https://laqm.defra.gov.uk/ 
Defra’s website also provides information on other environmental issues such as waste, 
water quality and climate change.  

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Twitter

You can follow Defra UK-AIR (@DefraUKAir) on Twitter for air quality forecasts and

summaries of measurements from the UK Automatic Urban and Rural Network.

This service is automated and allows you to stay informed about current and forecast air

quality including episodes of poor air quality.

During weekdays, the automated system tweets updates about air pollution in the UK at

9am, 1pm and 5pm. At weekends and public holidays, the tweets are at 10am and 4pm. If

levels are low, only one tweet a day will be issued.

A summary air quality forecast for the next 24 hours is tweeted daily, usually in the

afternoon, allowing you to plan your activities accordingly.

The tweets will generally be labelled according to two categories:

1. Latest: these tweets will report the latest measured levels and provide regional

summaries. The UK regions used are the same as those used on UK-AIR. A link is provided

to UK-AIR so users can find out more.

2. Forecasts: these tweets provide a headline of the latest air pollution forecast for the

UK. A link will be provided to the Forecasting section of UK-AIR where the full forecast can

be viewed. For example:

Forecast: High air pollution expected at urban & rural background locations in

England & Wales due to ozone http://bit.ly/HHMxp6 #ukair

Health advice and information on the Daily Air Quality Index should be considered in

conjunction with the tweets, particularly when air pollution is elevated.

Please note this automated system provides outbound information only: it cannot reply to

incoming tweets.

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E-mail Bulletins

You can also subscribe to receive free e-mail messages on air quality: https://uk-

air.defra.gov.uk/subscribe. There are two options:

• Monthly mailing list. Subscribers to this mailing list get a monthly e-mail with

updates on the latest air quality news, website updates and newly available reports.

• E-mail bulletins. Subscribers can choose to receive:

o Measurement: Summary of last 24-hour's or last hour's air quality

measurement data.

o Forecasts: Daily updated forecasts of UK air pollution concentrations up to

24-hours ahead.

o Alerts: If the Alert Threshold for ozone, nitrogen dioxide or sulphur dioxide

(as specified in the Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010) is exceeded

then an alert is issued.

You can unsubscribe from this service at any time.

Freephone Air Pollution Bulletin Service

Defra also provides a free automated telephone service on 0800 55 66 77. This provides

an air pollution nowcast and a forecast for the following 24 hours by region as well as

health messages.

Air Pollution in the UK Reports

In September each year, Defra produces an annual report on “Air Pollution in the UK”

covering the previous calendar year. This report summarises how air quality is assessed,

where any exceedances of Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010) limit values have

occurred, how air quality varies across the UK, and how it has changed over time. This

report is the UK’s flagship air quality report and is a valuable source of information on air

quality.

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About the Daily Air Quality Index

The forecasts, nowcasts and summaries on UK-AIR use the “Daily Air Quality Index”

(DAQI). This is a way of describing outdoor air pollution levels in a clear and simple way,

similar to a pollen index or sun index.

The DAQI covers the five pollutants that are most likely to affect health on a day-to-day

basis:

• Ozone

• Nitrogen dioxide (NO

)

• Sulphur dioxide (SO

)

• Fine particulate matter (as PM

)

• Very fine particulate matter (as PM

2.5

The Daily Air Quality Index uses a scale of 1 to 10 to describe air pollution, divided into

three bands. Low air pollution is between 1 and 3, Moderate is between 4 and 6, High is

between 7 and 9, and Very High is 10 on the scale. The scale is colour-coded as follows:

The concentrations associated with each index/band varies by pollutant and reflect their

typical concentrations in outdoor air, and the concentrations at which health effects may

occur.

The Daily Air Quality Index comes in three parts:

A. Instructions on how to use the index;

B. The short-term health effects of air pollution and action that can be taken to

reduce impacts;

C. Health advice linked to each band.

It also includes advice for people whose health is sensitive to air pollution, and advice for

the general population.

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Other sources of Information

As well as the sources of information on air quality provided by Defra, the following may

also be useful:

The Air Pollution Information System (APIS) website provides information on various air

pollutants, how they are formed and how they affect plant and animal species and their

habitats. It also contains a database which can be used to identify average concentrations

of certain pollutants at specified locations, and whether these exceed critical levels for

different types of ecosystems.

London Air website is managed by Imperial College London. As well as data, forecasts and

summaries this website also provides downloadable mobile phone apps allowing Londoners

to check out air quality in their city, while out and about.

Air pollution Text Messaging Services are available in different regions of the UK such as

“AirText” in London (https://www.airtext.info/signup), “airAlert” in Hampshire, Sevenoaks,

Surrey and Sussex (https://airalert.info/Splash.aspx) and “Know & Respond” Scotland

(https://www.scottishairquality.scot/know-and-respond). These are aimed at people

suffering from heart conditions, asthma or other breathing problems, whose health may be

affected by episodes of poor air quality. These free services alert subscribers when poor air

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quality is forecast in their area for the day ahead. Users can register themselves or someone

they care for, and get alerts sent straight to a mobile phone, home phone or email.

Information from Local Authorities. For information on specific air quality issues in your

local area, please contact the Environmental Health department of your local authority or

visit your Local Authority’s website. They will be able to help with issues such as:

• Whether your local authority has any Air Quality Management Areas, and where

they are.

• Whether your home is in a smoke control area, and if so, which fuels and

appliances may be used.

• Local issues such as nuisance dust, smoke, or odour.

The Environment Agency website at http://www.environment-

agency.gov.uk/default.aspx, and the Scottish Environment Agency (SEPA) website in

Scotland (https://www.sepa.org.uk/), provide information for businesses on topics

including:

• Advice on preventing and minimising pollutant emissions

• Environmental Permitting and other environmental legislation.

The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) compiles estimates of emissions

to the atmosphere from UK sources such as cars, trucks, power stations and industrial plant.

These estimates of emissions are made in order to help find ways of reducing the impact of

human activities on the environment and our health. The NAEI website is at

https://naei.beis.gov.uk/.

The Clean Air Hub (https://www.cleanairhub.org.uk/home) gives information on air pollution

and its effects on health and the environment. The website also includes a section on what

you can do to lower air pollution levels, a clean air calculator to understand your personal

pollution footprint and a clean air planner to help you avoid polluted air and reduce the air

pollution you create.