Campaigners have described Scotland’s air quality as “shameful” despite an improvement in the country’s most polluted street. Friends of the Earth Scotland said many areas suffered from higher pollution levels in 2019 than in previous years. But nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels on Hope Street in Glasgow averaged 55.6 micrograms per cubic metre (mcg/m3) last year compared with 60 in 2018. The Scottish government said it is working to address the problem. FoE Scotland said politicians at a local and national level had been too slow in reducing car traffic in urban areas and in making public transport both reliable and affordable. The environmental campaign group analysed official air pollution data for 2019, looking at two toxic pollutants which are primarily produced by transport.

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