Our Chippenham Air Quality Statistics are in for September 2024. One of the most interesting regions is Rowden Hill where a set of temporary traffic lights caused traffic queues on the A4 next to our Air Quality monitor on Rowden Hill.
The Particulate Pollution recorded by our Rowden Hill monitor was ten times the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation for Particulate Pollution over the period of the road works, returning to the background level once the roadworks had completed.
The WHO says of PM2.5 particulates
the 24-hour average exposures should not exceed 15 µg/m3 more than 3 – 4 days per year.
Would a ‘Please turn off your engines‘ sign have made a difference here? Though it’s unknown what effect it would have on the traffic further back, the evidence suggests it could have significantly improved air quality over this period.