Our petition Bring air pollution in Portsmouth within legal limits has finally launched! At 1000 signatures, a debate before the full Portsmouth City Council will occur. At the time of writing, we have 41 signatures, so please spread widely on social media. The council’s website is a bit of a hassle to navigate, but trust us: it’s worth it!😄 Please share on social media and spread to followers, particularly if you are part of a social or environmental group in Portsmouth.

I’m [Tim] going on Express PM radio later today 8:30pm-ish to talk about air pollution. Wish me luck! 😨

Portsmouth’s air quality problem is again in the news with 2.5 particulate pollution making headlines in The News: Portsmouth is still one of worst UK cities for air pollution, new data has revealed Levels of PM2.5 are still about WHO guidelines, which have been linked to respiratory illnesses. 😷

As well as the health impact, air pollution has been linked to increased crime by London School of Economics scientists. This is particularly noticed in data about less severe crimes such as pick pocketing and shop lifting. This observational study does not indicate a mechanism but other researchers have speculated that pollution may be linked to the stress hormone cortisol which affects behaviour. 😠

Since Portsmouth is a port city, it incurs pollution from shipping as well as traffic. Some of this pollution comes from ships that are berthed but powered by on board diesel generators. These could be switched to shore based electrical power, which would be greener if generated from a renewable source. This also requires infrastructure at each port, which is sadly lacking. All berth ships combined produce 1.3% of the UK’s NO2 emissions, but this is obviously much higher in port areas. (Incidentally, the impact of berthed ships on Southampton is quite shocking). 🚢

Update: also check out our new FAQ page. And the radio interview: