Pollutionwatch: February 2008

February was the one of the most polluted months for a long time in the UK. Although the first and last weeks were very wet and windy, the middle of the month was dominated by a huge area of high pressure extending over most of Europe which brought cold, still weather to the UK leading to classic winter smog conditions. What was particularly notable during this episode though was that problems were recorded for not just particles and nitrogen dioxide, but also for sulphur dioxide which is very rarely a problem nowadays aside from a very limited number of industrial locations. The worst problems were caused by particles. There was hardly a day between the 6th and the 22nd when targets were not being broken. On five days, one or more stations reported 'high' or 'very high'concentrations and the number of sites reporting problems was well into double figures. Initially the pollution episode mainly affected the midlands, northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but it later became much more widespread, extending down to the south coast, and west into Devon and Wales. Between the 11th and 13th February, nitrogen dioxide concentrations rose across the midlands. The worst affected place was Nottingham, but significant peaks were also recorded in Bury, Birmingham, Leeds, Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester. Nottingham also experienced another episode later in the month, on the morning of the 18th. The problems with sulphur dioxide were far more limited. Between the 17th and the 20th there were a number of large peaks in sulphur dioxide recorded at the Freetown monitoring site in Hull, and to a lesser extent in Barnsley and London.