Stamford Climate Action Group measure the quality of air in the town

Every day we take approximately 22,000 breaths, inhaling about 500ml of air each time, writes Bret Allibone, the chairperson of Stamford Climate and Environment Committee.

We pay little attention to most of our breathing but perhaps we might deliberately and indulgently draw a deep breath when at the coast or in aromatic woodland to enjoy the nourishing pure air.

During the industrial revolution the air would sometimes be so thick with the burning of fossil fuels that it would cause poor visibility and acid rain. Maybe not so nourishing? Governments then started to measure chimney and exhaust pipe fumes, regulating our levels of pollution.

One Friday morning at 8am I set off for a walk around Stamford holding a portable air quality monitor. I passed the traffic queuing at Scotgate and looped around the bus station, busy with idling buses. I moved on to St Mary’s Street alongside the congestion waiting to cross the town bridge and continued south to be faced by the commuters heading in from the A1. Next was Wharf Road, Brazenose Lane, Rhyall Road and Drift Road to the college. My last measurement was in Broad Street market where some stall holders had started up their petrol generators.

I downloaded the data from the air quality monitor which gave me an Air Quality Index (AQI) score. On a scale of 0-500+ Stamford was 101, labelled as “Poor – unhealthy for sensitive groups”. Worse than “Good” and “Moderate”, better than “Unhealthy”, “Severe” and “Hazardous”. Delhi was recorded as the most polluted capital city in the world in 2023 and also measured “Poor” that same Friday morning at 132.

My walk took in the most congested parts of the town at one of the busiest times of day and, when I repeated the walk on a quiet Sunday evening, I’m happy to say that Stamford scored a refreshing AQI of 11. However school children and other pedestrians fill the narrow pavements during these same busy times, not to mention the occupants of the cars themselves.

Not using our cars for short journeys and turning off our engines while we wait will help to keep us all healthier. By making conscious choices every day to reduce our emissions, we can ensure that every breath we take is a step towards a cleaner, healthier future for ourselves and generations to come.