2023 Action Scorecards

Action Scorecards 2023

Question: Do the PM 2.5 levels in a significant proportion of neighbourhoods in the council’s area exceed the safe World Health Organisation (WHO) air pollution guidelines?

Question code
2.12b
Section
Transport
Topic
nan
Source
National Data
Question weight
Low

Criteria

Negatively Scored Question

A local authority will be negatively scored if they have 25% or more LSOAs (Lower-layer Super Output Areas) above the World Health Organisations (WHO) PM 2.5 guidelines.

A local authority will be further negatively scored if they have 75% or more LSOAs (Lower-layer Super Output Areas) above the World Health Organisations (WHO) PM 2.5 guidelines.

Clarifications

PM2.5 (Particulate Matter2.5) is the tiny particles or droplets in the air that are two and one half microns or less in width. PM 2.5 can be caused by burning fossil fuels, tyre wear and brake dust from cars and even weather variations. Data for PM 2.5 is less accurate at the local level and relies upon modelling due to a lack of national sensors.

LSOAs (Lower-layer Super Output Areas) are small areas designed to be of a similar population size, with an average of approximately 1,500 residents or 650 households. They are used to form the basis of the census.

WHO PM2.5 guidelines: PM 2.5 concentrations of 5 μg/m3 annual average.

Question performance

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