Air pollution

The whole borough has been designated an 'Air Quality Management Area' (AQMA) for both nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM10 (particles less than 10 microns).

For enquires relating to CO2 reduction or sustainability please visit our GoGreen pages.

For enquires relating to air quality contact the Special Projects Team.

Air Quality - results for today

The results are for the continuous monitoring in the borough. We currently have three sites, two static sites in Barnes and one mobile site currently in Lower Mortlake Road, Richmond, adjacent to West Sheen Vale. The results for the mobile site have a delay of 24 hours, hence the latest results are from yesterday.

Historical data from the continuous analysers can be found on the air quality monitoring data page.

Increasingly it is thought that high levels of air pollution are detrimental to health, especially for susceptible members of the community, such as the elderly, children, asthmatics and individuals with bronchitis. It is important to the Council to ensure that pollution levels are regularly checked to protect the population of the borough.

New Olympics site and apps launched

King's - Environmental Research Group have launched a brand new section of their London Air website designed specifically for providing a wealth of air quality information for visitors and athletes, along with major updates to their iPhone, Android and Chrome apps.

Low-pollution walking routes in West London

To promote walking as a sustainable transport mode and help protect walkers from routes with high air pollution, the West London Air Quality Cluster Group commissioned Walkit.com, with a grant from Transport for London, to produce air pollution-aware walking routes for West London.

You can go to Walkit.com website to plan your journey along low pollution routes in West London.

Air quality alerts - airTEXT

The air quality forecast for today can be seen on the airTEXT website together with some health advice if levels are high.

Richmond Council is taking part in a London wide air quality information service, to help people who are more at risk from high levels of air pollution. The two year service known as airTEXT works by sending air pollution alerts via text message, emails and voice mail. You can register for this free service if you:

  • Have been diagnosed by your doctor with asthma, emphysema, bronchitis or COPD, heart disease or angina and
  • Live or work in Richmond

How to register

Complete the online form (on the airTEXT website). You can choose to receive the alerts by:

  • Text message to your mobile phone
  • Recorded voice message to your home phone
  • E-mail to your computer

For further information, you can contact the Special Projects Team on 020 8891 7729. If you have neighbours or friends who wish to be registered and who have no Internet access they can also call this number to be registered.

Air quality leaflet

This air quality leaflet(pdf, 76KB) was used for the Green Transport events and provides basic results and information and why the council monitors air quality.