LONDON, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Air pollution in the busiest roads in London's West End tourism hotspot is 10 times higher than in smaller side streets just meters away, a new study revealed Wednesday.
The data from Breathe London, a project aimed at measuring and mapping air pollution across the city, shows some of London's most polluted streets detected by a sensor network, giving a fresh insight into the British capital's air quality crisis.
More than 100 fixed sensors have been placed in locations across London which have found levels of pollution likely to exceed legal limits in central London as well as outer London boroughs such as Barking, Kingston and Hillingdon.
"The findings demonstrate that poor air quality is not only a problem for people living and working in central London," said a City Hall statement.
In their first eight months of operation, 40 percent of the sensors detected high levels of air pollution, the data shows.
"Sensors on busy West End roads also recorded levels of nitrogen dioxide 10 times higher than on smaller streets just a few meters away," the statement revealed.
"London's filthy air is a public health crisis that leads to thousands of premature deaths in the capital every year as well as stunting the development of young lungs and increasing the number of cases of respiratory illness. It is vital that we face up to the reality of our situation and don't shy away from the challenges presented by this new data," London Mayor Sadiq Khan said.
He said the findings from a world-leading sensor network are a stark reminder that pollution hotspots exist across London.
"As we face up to the current climate emergency, I hope the success of this scheme will act as a blueprint for cities around the world to battle their own toxic air emergencies. But we can't win this battle alone. The government must take the air we breathe seriously and offer the support London needs to tackle this public health crisis," added Khan.
Baroness Bryony Worthington, executive director of Environmental Defense Fund Europe, said London's new data shows that not only is air pollution dangerously high throughout the city, but nearly half of the new monitoring network is on track to breach legal limits, putting the health of all Londoners at risk.
