Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Lockdown effect on pollution could give glimpse at Aberdeen’s future, experts claim

A deserted Union Street in Aberdeen during lockdown.
A deserted Union Street in Aberdeen during lockdown.

Campaigners say plummeting levels of air pollution in Aberdeen city centre during lockdown offer a glimpse into a greener future where vehicles are banned from certain streets.

The Air Quality In Scotland organisation claims the deserted roads “provide an opportunity to investigate what improved air quality within Scotland’s cities could look like in the future”.

Vehicles are the main source of harmful gases like nitrogen dioxide, which is monitored at various roadside points across the Granite City including on Union Street.

Comparing the first week in April 2019 to the same week this year, the experts showed the average nitrogen dioxide concentration in the city’s main thoroughfare fell from 39 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 17,  a reduction of 56%.

Similar decreases have been recorded in the three other largest Scottish cities, with carbon dioxide levels falling by 57% in Edinburgh’s St John’s Road, 73% in Glasgow’s Hope Street and 43% in Lochee Road in Dundee.

While the fall might have been predictable given the lack of cars on the road during lockdown, environmental campaigners said it should not have taken the “absolute horror” of the pandemic to illustrate how steep the decline would be.

In February, city councillors pushed forward with plans for a public consultation to be held into the proposed low emissions zone (LEZ) where certain vehicles are banned from parts of the heart of Aberdeen or charged for entry.

George Street and Harbour councillor Dell Henricksen, who highlighted the figures, said: “This just shows what we could do– my only concern is how quickly levels will rise again when the lockdown is over.

“These figures show the improvements a LEZ in Aberdeen could bring although it’s obviously very unfortunate this has come about because of the current situation.”

Council transport spokeswoman Sandra Macdonald added: “Having more people walking and cycling in Union Street makes for a more pleasant space and would be preferable going forward, as well as having good public transport.

“It’s not a surprise that air quality has improved so drastically, not just in Union Street but Market Street too – but it currently comes at a huge cost to local business.

“Maybe this situation has shown we can have a city centre with far fewer cars and hopefully environmentally friendly habits will stay with people once this is all over.”

Restrictions have also led to more members of the public opting for greener methods of travel in the Highlands, a move one politician has said may lead a charge for change at the end of the pandemic.

Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry has said the increase in Highlanders getting out and about on foot “could provide the stepping stones to a healthier future”, with efforts to look out for one another during the pandemic assisting to “strengthen the long-held community spirit of the Highlands”.