Palace Pollution

Tourists with asthma should avoid the area around Buckingham Palace, which has the worst pollution level in the UK, almost four times the EU legal limit. Despite the palace being surrounded by greenery - St James's Park, Green Park and the palace gardens - the average annual level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in nearby Grosvenor Place, is 152 micrograms per cubic metre of air. I'm surprised Her Majesty hasn't complained. Oxford Street near Marble Arch has the second worst level of NO2. It has had filthy air for as long as I can remember, due to all the buses and taxis churning out noxious diesel fumes. Parts of Regent Street, Piccadilly and Marylebone Road also have more than double the legal levels of NO2 (CLICK).