Air pollution is the single biggest environmental health risk in the UK – local authorities play a crucial role in improving air quality. Clean Air Day, the UK’s largest campaign on air pollution is happening on Thursday 15 June 2023. The theme is – “Clean up our air to look after your mind this #CleanAirDay”.

Cleaning up our air is good for us in many ways: it not only benefits our physical health and the environment but can also protect our mental and brain health. The physical health impacts of air pollution – such as asthma, heart disease and cancers – have been recognised for decades. More recently, researchers are beginning to understand how air pollution can affect the brain and the mind.

Campaigners want to use this year’s Clean Air Day to support the public to:

• Learn: find out more about how air pollution impacts our mental, physical and planet’s health.
• Act: walk, wheel or use public transport to reduce your exposure and contribution to air pollution. If you drive, try leaving the car behind on Clean Air Day and one day every week.
• Ask: what can you do to achieve cleaner air?

In Hyndburn, we have a range of beautiful parks all around the borough to explore and the council has recently announced that the Authority’s 54 vans, cars and lorries are to be converted from running on diesel to using Hydro Treated Vegetable oil (HVO) instead. This reduces net CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent (which would equate to a reduction of 450 tons in relation to the Councils fleet), as well as significantly reducing nitrous oxide (NOx) and particulate matter from the diesel fleet for cleaner air in Hyndburn!

Learn more about Clean Air Day at www.cleanairday.org.uk