Data shows one in 20 Darlington deaths due to air pollution

Data released by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities reveal that air pollution was responsible for 5.2% of the deaths of people in Darlington aged over 30 in 2022.

This was up from 4.6% the year before and was above pre-pandemic levels of 5.1%.

The Government says it wants to halve pollution levels of fine particles to reach an annual mean concentration of 10 micrograms per cubic metre by 2040.

The World Health Organization's current advice says this figure should be no more than five micrograms per cubic metre.

Climate campaigners the Friends of the Earth said air pollution unfairly affects marginalised communities, especially those in cities.

In the North East, 5.4% of deaths in 2022 were due to air pollution.

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A government spokesperson said it has made "significant progress improving air quality since 2010".

They said: "We have delivered significant reductions in emissions – with fine particulate matter falling by 24%, and nitrogen oxides down by 48%.

"We also met our targets to reduce emissions for all five key pollutants in the latest reporting year."