Air Quality
Air pollution, clean air zones and health
Clean Air Zones and AQMAs
Driving charges and declared pollution areas
A Clean Air Zone charges older, more polluting vehicles a daily fee to drive inside a marked boundary. London's ULEZ, Scotland's Low Emission Zones and Oxford's Zero Emission Zone are the same family under different names. No charging zone operates in Wales or Northern Ireland. An Air Quality Management Area charges nothing. Councils in all four UK nations declare one where they find a national pollution limit breached.
Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI)
Ten-point scale for pollution levels
The Daily Air Quality Index runs from 1 to 10 and reports short-term pollution. It covers nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, PM2.5 and PM10, and the worst single pollutant sets the whole index. Defra publishes it on advice from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants. All four UK nations use the same scale.