London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) has helped to significantly improve air pollution levels, a north London council has claimed.

At monitoring sites installed since 2019, nitrogen dioxide levels in Camden have fallen by 31%.

At ten sites in the borough, pollution levels exceeded the legal limit, a significant decrease from 2019, when 96 of these sites breached government targets.

Camden Council has said that monitoring sites north of Euston Road showed larger improvements from 2021 to 2022 compared to those south of the ring road.

The authority claims this is “in part thanks to the expansion of…ULEZ in October 2021”, when the zone was extended from London's inner ring road to its outer ring road.

Since 2022, across all monitoring sites, nitrogen dioxide levels have fallen by 1.4%. Camden Council said that this was “despite a continued trend of traffic returning towards pre-pandemic levels”.

Under current government regulations, nitrogen dioxide should not exceed the annual mean concentration of 40µg (micrograms) per m3 (cubic metre).

In 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) slashed its air pollution guideline to 10 µg/m3.

Currently, Camden Council has a 2030 target of nitrogen dioxide levels staying at or below 20µg/m3. A total of 18% of monitoring sites in the borough have already met this target.

Cllr Adam Harrison, cabinet member for a Sustainable Camden, said: “Camden Council was the first local authority to commit to achieving the updated World Health Organisation air quality guidelines.

"We are working with partners in the borough and beyond to drive sources of air pollution down as quickly as possible."