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61. Air quality and health

(a) annual levels of particles and ozone, 1990 to 2006

(b) days when air pollution is moderate or higher, 1990 to 2006

PM10 concentrations since:	1993		1999
Urban ozone concentrations since:	1992		1999
Rural ozone concentrations since:	1990		1999

• The two types of air pollution believed to have the most significant impacts on public health are long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM10) and daily peak ozone levels.
• Annual average particulate levels have been decreasing, since monitoring began in 1997 although the trend has been reversed in each of the last two years. There is an upward trend in background ozone levels, and a more marked increase in urban areas, due to the reduction in urban emissions of nitrogen oxides, which destroy ozone close to their emission source.
• The number of days when air pollution was assessed as being moderate or higher at rural sites has gradually increased since 1993. Urban sites show a high degree of variability between years.
• The weather can cause significant variation from year to year in the number of days of moderate or higher air pollution. The hot summer and other pollution episodes in 2003 and 2006 led to an unusually high number of pollution days.
  

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