Mayor unveils guide to cut pollution deaths

London Evening Standard/LondonBoris Johnson has urged Londoners to act to protect their families from air pollution which leads to thousands of premature deaths a year in the capital.The Mayor launched City Hall’s first major public awareness campaign on the health risks of dirty air, which spells out steps people can take to limit its impact. Key advice includes:l Walk or cycle for short journeys, as recent research has shown air inside cars can be worse than outside.l Use quieter side-streets rather than busy roads, as air you breathe could be up to 50% cleaner.l Walk on the pavement further away from traffic on busy roads as air there will be less polluted.l Motorists should switch off their engine when parked or stationary for a long period rather than leave it idling.Environmental campaigners have accused City Hall of not doing enough to make Londoners aware of the risks from air pollution and dragging its feet over action to tackle it.The capital has a series of pollution hotspots, with Oxford Street one of the worst, having breached the legal EU limit for nitrogen dioxide fumes for the whole of 2015 after just four days, according to experts.But Johnson unveiled the Breathe Better Together campaign — with an animated version of himself appearing in a video — which encourages Londoners to receive text alerts and e-mails about pollution levels.“This is about promoting small simple steps we can all make to help improve air quality, protect ourselves from pollutants and indeed breathe better together,” he said. Dr Yvonne Doyle from Public Health England added: “The major effect of long-term exposure to air pollution is on deaths from cardio-respiratory disease.”As part of the campaign, hundreds of posters will be put up on the Tube and experts will go into schools and businesses to explain the risks from NO2 and pollution from tiny fuel particles.