27 Sep 2011

Auckland air pollution nearly double Sydney's

9:03 pm on 27 September 2011

Auckland has pollution levels nearly double that of Sydney and the worst among New Zealand's major cities, according to new figures.

The World Health Organisation used national reports and websites to measure the amount of fine particles of pollution in the air in more than 1000 cities across 91 countries.

In 2009, Auckland had an annual average of 23 micrograms of P10 particles - pollution less than 10 micrometres that can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream.

That is the same as Tokyo and breaches WHO and New Zealand Government guidelines that are for no more than 20 micrograms.

Environment Minister Nick Smith describes that as moderate.

"My advice is that Auckland's air quality is worse than Sydney - and that is a concern - and that it is slightly better than Melbourne."

Dr Smith says the Government has a pretty aggressive programme around the practical steps required to improve Auckland's air quality. This includes converting 20,000 households to clean heating and phasing out sulphur in diesel and petrol.