Oxford city centre has seen a historic drop in air pollution as a direct result of the coronavirus lockdown, new data has revealed.
Independent experts from Ricardo Energy and Environment modelled what air quality would have been like without lockdown measures in place and compared this with the actual measurements obtained at 29 sites across the UK.
The assessment found a 59% reduction in nitrogen dioxide in Oxford as a direct result of the lockdown measures.
The average fall in nitrogen dioxide across the 29 sites, which included London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton and York, was 34%.
In Oxford, 75% of nitrogen dioxide comes from transport and, with roads clear of congestion, levels are now below the legal limit in Oxford city centre for the first time in generations, said Oxford City Council.
Over the decade to 2019 air pollution levels in Oxford had decreased by 36.8%.
Oxford City Council said it is now keen to maintain the current 59% reduction in air pollution after the lockdown eases, and is in discussions with Oxfordshire County Council, the transport authority, to achieve this.
Councillor Tom Hayes, cabinet member for Financial Inclusion and Zero Carbon Oxford, said: “Coronavirus has suddenly given British cities cleaner air.
“Why should we return to pollution-spewing traffic that harms human health when we know the pandemic is preying on people with underlying health conditions?
“To keep people safe and lock in this rare upside to lockdown, we need to rethink how much space we give over to cars then rapidly take the right action.
“We need to act now to protect the right to walk and cycle safely free from the risk of infection, traffic injury, and emissions-belching cars.”
Last week, the city council announced that it was exploring a range of measures to protect public health, and provide pedestrians and cyclists with more space, as the city centre reopens.
Both Oxford City Council and County Council plan to introduce a Zero Emission Zone, which will see diesel and petrol vehicles charged to enter the city centre in stages between 2021 and 2036.
In March, both councils announced that the launch of the zone would be postponed for six months from late 2020 until summer 2021 as a result of the pandemic.
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