Cold weather triggers spike in air pollution levels across the country

Coal-driven air toxicity reaches four to six times the WHO’s guidelines in Ennis, Letterkenny and Enniscorthy

While nitrogen dioxide is a problem year round, it is the particulate matter levels in winter that push our air quality to unacceptable levels

Significant air pollution events have been recorded around the country in recent weeks as the weather has turned cold, with Ennis, Enniscorthy and Letterkenny the worst offenders for poor air quality.

Air pollution is made up of a number of particles and gases. The most important of those are fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), which is associated with solid fuel burning, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) which is associated with traffic exhaust emissions.

While NO2 is ...