Pollution

[idun]

On NE England weather last night, on our local news, the weather man said that we could have some pollution problems and for those with breathing difficulties or heart problems to take care. And he showed a map and the wind sending this 'pollution' all this way north, was from France.

Now some saharan sand was mentioned but the weather mans map stopped at France, so where is this pollution coming from. We sometimes had saharan sand in the Alpes and the snow on the mountains would go pink, nightmare for the ski ressorts though.

So where is this pollution really coming from. Established that there is a pollution problem in France, is there such a problem in the Maghreb? And  we still have industry in the NE of England, the merest shadow of what it was, but we still have it, and yet we are still getting a warning about this, so it must be pretty bad!

[Chancer]

I was pondering this the other week when they predicted well in advance that there would be a high level of air pollution in Northern France and unlike the meteo they were spot on, they said that it was caused by farmers spraying, factory and vehicle emissions.

I just spent a week in the UK, really clear skies, cold nights and a full moon of a brilliance I have never ever seen, I thought someone had switched on a floodlight, returning using the tunnel yesterday afternoon I was shocked to see how gloomy the Pas de Calais was compared to Kent, it wasnt grey gloomy weather, the sun was out, there were no clouds but a thick fog of pollution blocking out the suns rays.

In the space of one week I have seen the clearest night ever and the darkest day ever of my life.

I would love to know why it didnt cross the channel.

[andyh4]

It did cross the Channel Chancer - today.

Northern France's weather is influenced in roughly equal measure by Continental weather systems and by the Atlantic systems. UK weather is much more highly influenced by the latter. OTOH, Brittany is very much more influenced like the UK. And where I live I have to contend with both of the above plus Mediterranean and Alpine weather influences.

Idun, in one sense there is nothing new in this. For over 200 years the UK suffered in some places from what today would seem unimaginable air pollution. Stories from the 5 towns (Potteries) talk of regular black rain - as a direct result of emissions from the kilns. Working people in industrial areas might consider themselves lucky if they survived to a 50th birthday - or there again might not. Pulmonary causes of death were common.

What seems to have happened now is that there is a conjunction of dust from Maghreb desserts, Agricultural spraying and vehicle emissions - maybe from those nasty foreigners but also possibly home (UK) grown.

Undoubtedly the ever increasing use of the internal combustion engine contributes to the problems.

I wonder whether however, if the implementation of environmental measures has made the problems worse. Catalytic converters reduce the amounts of carbon monoxide and unburnt fuel from exiting the exhaust, but increase the amount of Nitrogen Oxides - which are often to blame for that brown haze you see in bright sunlight.

Filters cut out the amounts of thick soot particles - the classic diesel black exhaust - they do not stop the fine particles of soot. Maybe the heavy visible black particles actually help to blanket the finer particles that are today the problem.

I truly wonder whether in 50 year's time some of today's measures will be seen as negative steps that maybe even exacerbated the problems. Quite a number of German cities have instigated vehicle pollution classification and high polluting vehicles are banned from the city centres. Vignettes have to be bought and displayed. And yet despite these measures in a city such as Cologne, the reduction in particulates is so small as to lie within the error of measurement.

[idun]

I suppose the things that have surprised me recently have been the Vallee Blanche pollution and now being warned 'up' here in the industrial NE of England where we have certainly had much pollution in the past, and I suppose some now, about pollution on it's way from France. Feels plain wrong.

[lindal1000]

It has always been thus as weather does not respect national borders! The great lakes of Canada were killed off by acid rain that started it's life from the big industrial plants further South in the USA.

I suppose the difference is that there are fewer and fewer big polluting factories, at least in the West, but more and more other contributing factors. As pointed out with the desert sand example, many pollutants are natural..for example down here we get a haze around harvest time from all the dust. High pressure this time of year seems to trap pollutants in the atmosphere.

[Gardengirl]

Down here in the Gard, the quality of our air has stood at 5 for most of this week, so halfway between excellent and terrible. It was windy on Sunday and Monday, but has been more or less still since then.

There's a lot of flu around, with quite a lot of people getting it for the second time within 4 or 5 weeks of the first, but as well as people coughing with that, dozens of others are coughing, sneezing and have watering eyes due to pollen, I'm told. I usually suffer from the effects from all the plane trees in town, but not so far this week - thank goodness, it's bad enough having my husband coughing and choking with his second round of flu, the first time in England four weeks ago and the second time this week.