London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

London Says Air Pollution Fell By Roughly A Third After New Emissions Rules

London Says Air Pollution Fell By Roughly A Third After New Emissions Rules

If vehicles in central London don't meet emissions standards, their drivers must pay a daily fine. Six months into the new program, the city says the regulation is decreasing toxic air pollution.
London says toxic air pollution has fallen by roughly a third inside a central urban zone where drivers are required to meet specific emission standards or pay a daily fine. The city launched the Ultra Low Emission Zone in April.

The city's report states that about 13,500 fewer polluting cars are driven in the zone daily, and that traffic has decreased overall in the bustling area.

According to the report, nitrogen dioxide pollution has fallen by 36% in the central zone since February 2017, when the city first announced a "toxicity charge" on older vehicles.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the new ULEZ charges after seeing an increase in children suffering chronic illness and lung damage from air pollutants. He says the new report shows the move was a step in the right direction.

"I am determined to stop Londoners breathing air so filthy it is damaging our children's lungs and causing thousands of premature deaths," Khan says. "The ULEZ shows what we can achieve if we are brave enough to implement such ambitious policies."

The implementation of the ULEZ has been called "radical" because of its 24/7 regulation and strict emission standards. Some small-business owners expressed concerns about how the additional cost burden of buying new cars or paying steep charges might affect them.

Despite the criticism, the city plans to expand the zone's borders in 2021 to include London's inner suburbs bounded by the North and South Circular roads that effectively ring the city. An online petition that was created to protest the expansion has garnered more than 95,000 signatures.

In response to the petition, Khan's public liaison says air pollution is "a national health crisis" that is reducing life expectancy.

"While the Mayor is also acting on other sources [of pollution], road transport is the greatest contributor to air pollution in London," the statement says. "There is no way to make the massive improvements needed to London's air quality without tackling the most polluting vehicles and so this must be a focus for action."

The zone is part of Khan's continued efforts to improve London's air quality. All cars, not just ones below emission standards, must pay a daily charge of 11.50 pounds (nearly $15) if they drive within central London between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The city says the money will go toward improving the transportation network.

Other major cities around the world are introducing vehicle regulations and bans that are meant to reduce air pollution and make urban areas more livable.

In 2016, Paris banned cars made before 1997 from the city center on weekdays; it also recently declared the first Sunday of every month to be car-free. And earlier this month, San Francisco officials voted to ban cars from Market Street, the city's downtown spine.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×