Cue the old Tom Lehrer song… But seriously, I don’t fall into any of the risk groups advised to take it easy today, but even I’m feeling the prickly eyes and throat symptoms, as well as waking up feeling short of breath.

Should I ride, or take the bus in this morning?

I have missed something on the news maybe? Which pollution is this, a London smog or something more general?
If you feel short of breath when you wake up though you might actually be ailing for something else as well so maybe take it easy?

There’s a pollution advisory issued.

Easterly winds, high levels of pollution coming across from Europe.
Not Londonista based at all.

South east worst hit with vh warnings most of the Midlands at high level. Will clear tonight due to a cold showery front heading in.

Sooutheast = East Anglia, Essex and Kent. Portsmouth, the Midlands and Manchester.

Right, and the kids are supposed to be going for a bike ride with their mum on the Monsal Trail this morning. Best tell them to take it easy, although we are really north of what you might consider the Midlands I guess.
STW, still the place for news that matters 🙂

I have missed something on the news maybe? Which pollution is this, a London smog or something more general?

A change of wind direction means people in the south east are having to breath filthy immigrant european air rather than our good, honest british air. If you vote UKIPs they’ll harness the power of our wind farms to blow all the european air back where it came from.

Right, and the kids are supposed to be going for a bike ride with their mum on the Monsal Trail this morning. Best tell them to take it easy,

Its only an issue for anyone with pre-existing and severe illnesses – they’d need to take the same precautions as they’d need to take if they were going to spend time near a busy road.

Theres no need for anyone else to act in any way other than they normally would.

Right, and the kids are supposed to be going for a bike ride with their mum on the Monsal Trail this morning. Best tell them to take it easy, although we are really north of what you might consider the Midlands I guess.

Monsal Trail is in the midlands

Here’s a nice list of some pollution Monitoring Sites

http://aqicn.org/city/all/

waking up feeling short of breath.

Suggest GP visit as not normal under any circumstances.

East Angular here and not noticed it.
Bit misty this morning outside, but that’s all.

Easterly winds, high levels of pollution coming across from Europe.

Has Farage been advised?

I’ve recently had a health check so I’m confident it is the pollution.

I’ve felt absolutely bloody tip top in the relatively unpolluted atmosphere of northern NZ for the last month.. (thinking about it.. a gazillion square miles of impenetrable bush and jungle, and a tiny fraction of the traffic and industry, miles from the nearest continent, s’probly the cleanest air I’ve ever encountered by a very long margin)

On landing back in the UK I almost instantly got a temperature, very painful chesty cough, with lethargy and itchy eyes and nose.. feel generally pretty grim
On the way over to NZ I had a stopover in Guangzhou 100 miles north of Hong Kong..
The pollution there was like a brown inland sea mist and smelt of school chemistry laboratories..
Speaking of sea mist, there was a proper pea souper down here on the SW coast all day yesterday.. It didn’t stop the holiday makers though, who toughed it out on the sand in the damp freezing murk.. silly really as it was warm, bright and sunny just 500yards inland 🙂

I dunno if all or any of these observations are connected 🙁
(except that the mists created by the arrival of a cold front are probably being referred to as pollution by panicking hipsters and chavs)

Woke up in Kent, now in Essex, no problem so far.

Guess it could get worse during the day, but traffic seems very light down here at the moment.