Camden tops UK air pollution rankings with Holborn levels four times WHO limit

Camden is the most polluted local authority in the UK, according to an interactive map published by the Geographic Data Service. The data, sourced from Imperial College London, shows that one area covering Holborn, St Giles and Covent Garden records annual averages of nearly 21 micrograms of PM2.5 and more than 34 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

The World Health Organisation recommends annual averages should not exceed 5 micrograms of PM2.5 and 15 micrograms of NO2. Camden’s figures are four times and more than twice those limits, respectively. Every neighbourhood in London exceeds the WHO guidelines for both pollutants, MyLondon reported.

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Health impact and council response

Imperial College London data links around 109 premature deaths in Camden each year to air pollution. The figures prompted Camden Council to adopt the Clean Air Action Plan in 2022. The plan was partly shaped by the campaign of Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, a south London mother whose nine-year-old daughter, Ella, died in 2013 after repeated asthma attacks.

Kissi-Debrah spent seven years advocating for air pollution to be recognised as a factor in her daughter’s death. A 2020 inquest concluded that air pollution made a material contribution to Ella’s fatal asthma attack. Camden Council has since committed to meeting the WHO’s stricter air quality guidelines, which are tougher than the UK’s legal limits.

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The air can be quite thick sometimes with pollution. I'm glad the council are trying to do something about it, but obviously something else needs to be done to make a difference.

Lucas Shaw, Camden resident

Resident reactions and wider London context

Residents in Camden expressed surprise and concern at the findings. Lucas Shaw, who has lived in the borough for six years, told MyLondon he had noticed the air quality but did not realise Camden was the worst in the country. He said stricter traffic controls should be considered, particularly on busy routes like Euston Road.

Julie Oscars, another long-term resident, said the pollution had been a persistent issue. She supported measures like the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), despite local opposition, and warned that asthma sufferers would face worsening conditions without action. Both residents said they could sometimes physically feel the pollution in the air.

The London Clean Air Initiative described the findings as a wake-up call. A spokesperson said air pollution increases the risk of asthma, heart disease, stroke, dementia and lung cancer, with children, older people and those with existing health conditions most vulnerable. They called for continued investment in cleaner transport and greener neighbourhoods to protect public health.

National response and next steps

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said poor air quality costs the NHS millions in additional treatments for lung conditions and asthma. The government has set new air quality targets to reduce exposure to harmful particles by nearly a third by 2030. Defra is also reforming industrial permits and consulting on stricter standards for new wood-burning appliances.

Camden Council’s Clean Air Action Plan is currently under review. The next phase is expected to be published for public consultation in autumn 2024. Residents can submit responses during the consultation period, which will last at least 12 weeks. Details will be available on the council’s website once the draft is released.