Air quality report

The positive  impact of policies/infrastructure developments on our air quality, and health reasons for needing to go further

by Dr Lucy Reynolds, November 2025

Not only what we eat and drink but also what we breathe has important implications for our health. Beyond cigarette smoke and virus particles, there are many airborne pollutants that can harm our health in both the short and long term (Image 1). Evidence of this has grown in recent years, as summarised in the Royal College of Physicians’ A Breath of Fresh Air report in June 2025.

A range of Westminster, Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council policies and infrastructure developments are aimed at protecting us from the harms of air pollution.

Two key harmful pollutants that are monitored are nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) gas and small particulates. PM2.5 is particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less. This is so small it passes from the air in our lungs into our bloodstream and round our bodies – to our hearts, brains and other organs.

Automatic air quality monitoring stations measure hourly/daily/monthly/annual mean concentrations of pollutants, with statistics from them updated monthly on the Scottish Air Quality website. There are 11 of these across Glasgow. None are within the NKCC area. The closest to us is on Byres Road (Images 2 and 3).

The principal source of roadside nitrogen dioxide is vehicle exhausts (with diesel vehicles producing higher concentrations than petrol vehicles). Statistics from Byres Road (Image 4) show significant improvements in nitrogen dioxide levels in recent years – but that they are still above the objective advised by the World Health Organization (WHO).

PM2.5 is also produced by vehicles – mostly from brake wear and tyre and road wear rather than exhausts. A similar proportion of the PM2.5 in the air in UK cities is produced by domestic burning – mainly burning wood in our homes. Statistics from the Byres Road monitor (Image 5) show that annual mean concentrations there aren’t as high as they were before 2020, but that the level increased from 2023 to 2024, and is above the WHO guideline level.

Diffusion tubes measure annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide only. These figures are reported annually – initially in a Glasgow City Council report (produced August/September for the previous year’s data), and subsequently on the Scottish Air Quality website. There were reports for 121 sites across Glasgow in 2024. The number is increasing. Two are within the NKCC area – one by the parade of shops on Queen Margaret Drive (Image 6), and one on Belmont St (Image 7). 2024 was the first year in which annual mean concentrations measured at all Glasgow City sites (even in the city centre) were no higher than 40mcg/m³.

Although there is no monitoring of PM2.5 in the NKCC area done by statutory bodies, the graph in Image 8 shows data from a home monitor just inside the open window of a first-floor flat in Doune Quadrant, illustrating the spike in PM2.5 concentrations on bonfire night 2025, peaking at over 100mcg/m³.

The home monitor also demonstrated raised concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) every day when the flat below was being redecorated (Image 9).

What can we do?

• The Clean Air Hub provides accessible information about how air pollution affects health and what we can do to protect ourselves and others – including a Clean Air Planner allowing us to source advice specific to our own circumstances. Share this with family, friends and colleagues to spread the health benefits.
• See Glasgow City Council information on Smoke Control.
• Raise awareness of/take part in Clean Air Night in January and Clean Air Day in June.
• Be aware that while these campaigns advocate writing to our MPs, we have a Cleaner Air for Scotland Strategy which will be updated in 2026, so it is perhaps more relevant for us to write to our MSPs.