How Toxic Is City Cycling? | GCN Investigates

Cities can be toxic - 4.2 million people die each year as a result of having to breathe the polluted air from industry, construction, and transport. 92% of the world’s population live in areas where pollution exceeds safe limits. In this video, we speak to leading experts and look into the research that has been done surrounding the safety of riding bikes in cities.

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Well, there are two principal types, these are oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter. So if you’ll excuse us, it’s time to get into a bit of chemistry. Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) is a generic term used for the mixture of gases comprised of Nitrogen and Oxygen that are most relevant when talking about air pollution. There are two oxides we’re really talking about when we say NOx, and they are Nitric Oxide (NO) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). These oxides primarily come about through the burning of fossil fuels, so transportation is thought to contribute somewhere around 54% of the human-caused NOx in the atmosphere.

Now it probably comes as no surprise at this point, reducing the number of vehicles in a city drastically improves the quality of the air. There is a great deal of evidence showing that more people on bikes and fewer people in cars drastically improve the air quality in cities. Just have a look at this data from 30th July 2017, the day of the Prudential Ride London. Where much of the centre of London was completely closed to cars? Instead, the streets were full of people riding their bikes for almost the whole day. And it is really easy to see the effect that has had on the pollution in London on that day.

Do you cycle in a city? Will this research influence your riding? Let us know in the comments below. 👇

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