Farms found to be the biggest particulate pollution source for cities

Between 25% and 38% of air pollution that could harm human health in UK cities is the result of agriculture, more than produced by the city itself, while pollution drifting in from continental Europe is a sizable source as well, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The researchers studied three cities, Leicester, Birmingham and London, for the paper published in City and Environment Interactions . They modelled the spread of fine particulate matter pollution (which can be inhaled and harm our health) across the country using a computer simulation, then verified their results using data from pollution monitors distributed throughout the UK. The team ran multiple simulations with different pollution sources turned on and off, to see how each source contributed to the spread of particulate pollution. They found that UK agriculture contributed 38% of the particulate pollution in Leicester and 32% in Birmingham. Even in large cities like London, agriculture contributed 25% of the city's pollution. First author Dr Jamie Kelly, who conducted the research while based at UCL Geography before moving to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said: " We were surprised to find how pervasive the contribution of agricultural emissions of ammonia to particulate pollution really is.