Londoners breathe considerably cleaner air when exercising at weekends, in accordance with new analysis exhibiting nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) publicity falling by virtually 25% in contrast with weekdays.
The research, based mostly on over 50,000 out of doors runs, rides and walks logged throughout the capital between March 2024 and August 2025 – seems to disclose that median NO₂ publicity drops from 32 µg/m³ on weekdays to 24 µg/m³ on weekends.
The info has been supplied by know-how agency Air Conscious Labs.
While this weekend discount sits simply beneath the World Well being Group’s short-term air air pollution guideline of 25 µg/m³ for a 24-hour interval, it’s nonetheless dangerously near the really useful wholesome air values – that are more and more topic to particular person behaviour, in addition to variations because of modifications in visitors volumes, hotter temperatures and meteorological elements like wind course.
Key findings:
- Clear-air weekends: 19 of London’s boroughs fall beneath the WHO NO₂ reference worth at weekends, in contrast with simply 4 on weekdays
- Borough contrasts: Camden information the most important enchancment (-31%), whereas Lambeth noticed the worst weekday ranges (38.1 µg/m³). Merton provided the cleanest weekend air (17.0 µg/m³).
- Borough outliers: Hounslow (+11%) and Havering (+9%) buck the development, with increased weekend NO₂ doubtless linked to airport and hall visitors.
- If you train issues: The exercises with the bottom publicity are round 5am (18 µg/m³), whereas air pollution publicity peaks near 11pm (40 µg/m³).
- Visitors-linked influence: Knowledge suggests underlying traffic-linked NO₂ is the dominant driver of publicity between weekdays vs weekends within the capital.
Air air pollution prices the UK £500m per week in unwell well being, and throughout 2024 in London alone, 114,000 youngsters have been admitted to A&E with severe respiration issues – the equal of each seat in Wembley Stadium crammed one and a half occasions over.
In contrast to ambient monitoring, AirTrack evaluation displays real-world private publicity from the greater than 50,000 logged actions which were undertaken within the capital as a part of this research.
Dr Will Hicks, co-founder, Air Conscious Labs, stated:
“Air air pollution stays the most important environmental well being threat of our time, and this proof reveals it’s not simply background air high quality however particular person behaviour that ends in harmful weekday commuter publicity.
“These findings strengthen the case for focused measures like clean-air zones throughout peak commuting hours and borough-level interventions the place the well being returns are biggest. However we have to transfer past generic recommendation to real-time, personalised motion if we’re severe about defending Londoners’ well being.
WHO tips are designed to safeguard well being. Consider publicity like low credit card debt: even small quantities come at a value, however the greater the stability, the steeper the penalty. The most secure stability is zero. And simply as monetary debt takes self-discipline to cut back, slicing air air pollution calls for dedication from each people and authorities.”
The findings coincide with the capital being placed on a excessive air air pollution alert in the course of the latest sizzling temperatures and land simply as London debates clean-air corridors, ULEZ growth and peak-hour interventions.
It has additionally been introduced that Oxford Road is to go car-free for a day on Sunday 21 September – the day earlier than World Automotive Free Day – to display how pedestrianisation may work, if the Mayor of London’s plans go forward.
