Air pollution warning issued

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs today issued an alert saying levels of air pollution are forecast to become high in many areas of central, eastern and northern England tomorrow.

“This is due to a combination of pollutants trapped near the ground, a light southeasterly flow bringing additional pollutants from the Continent and, in addition, a small amount of Saharan dust in the air,” said officials.

Across the rest of the United Kingdom, levels of air pollution are expected to be mainly moderate, with the chance of very high levels of pollution in the South East.

The Met Office has forecast plenty of warm sunshine for Friday, however, cloud will gradually increase, giving a risk of a shower later, and it will become breezy. The maximum temperature is anticipated to be 20c.

Pollution levels are expected to fall to moderate or low during Saturday as clearer Atlantic air spreads in from the North West across all areas. Weather-wise, overnight rain will clear to leave a fresher, sunny day on Saturday. Rain may return on Sunday, followed by a fine day on Monday with light winds and sunny spells.