Air pollution in the city plummeted to its lowest recorded level last year as the coronavirus lockdown slashed the amount of traffic on city roads.
Latest figures show the amount of harmful nitrogen dioxide recorded in the air at five of the busiest roads in Leicester dropped dramatically in 2020 as people were ordered to stay at home for long periods to try to stop the spread of the virus.
Automatic vehicle counters in the city have shown that traffic levels fell by over 22 per cent over a nine-month period from March 2020, when lockdown began, compared to the same period in 2019 – a drop of almost two million vehicles.
The city council says Leicester is now meeting all current EU air quality targets for the first time since monitoring began over 20 years ago.
European and national guidelines set an annual mean limit value of 40 micrograms per cubic metre for nitrogen dioxide in the air and there are potential fines for cities that do not meet them.
Records show that in 2010 nitrogen dioxide levels were twice that level in the city.
