Pollen & Air Quality

Today's pollen count for London and how clean the air is, in plain language — updated hourly.

About these tools

Today's air quality in central London, updated hourly — and in spring and summer, the pollen. Air pollution is the reason London has the ULEZ; on still, cold or very hot days it climbs, and it matters most for children, older people and anyone with asthma or a heart condition.

Right now

Good The air is about as clean as it gets — no reason to change any plans.

Air quality index · European Air Quality Index

European scale: under 20 is good, over 60 is poor

7.1 µg/m³

Fine particles (PM2.5)

The pollutant that matters most for health

22.2 µg/m³

Nitrogen dioxide

Mostly from traffic

48.0 µg/m³

Ozone

Forms on hot, sunny days

Pollen today

Peak modelled counts for today. Hay fever symptoms typically start when counts pass about 50 grains/m³ — grass is the one that affects most people in the UK (May–July); birch is a spring tree pollen (March–May).

Pollen	Level	Peak today
Grass	Low	1 grains/m³
Birch	Low	0 grains/m³

Next few days

Day	Air quality	Grass pollen
Tue 25 Aug	Fair	Low
Wed 26 Aug	Fair	Low
Thu 27 Aug	Moderate	Low
Fri 28 Aug	Fair	—

Worth knowing

Traffic is London's main air story

Most of London's air pollution comes from road traffic — nitrogen dioxide and fine particles (PM2.5) from engines, brakes and tyres. That is what the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and the Congestion Charge are meant to cut. Levels are usually worst beside busy roads and on still days when nothing blows the air away.

Who needs to take more care

On high-pollution days, children, people over 65, and anyone with asthma, other lung conditions or a heart condition may notice symptoms and should take it easier outdoors. Most people are fine, but if pollution is high and you feel wheezy or short of breath, ease off and follow your usual medical advice.

Updated now. These are modelled estimates for the area around central London, not readings from a street monitor — air right beside a busy road can be worse than the area-wide picture. The official index where you are is the Daily Air Quality Index on UK-AIR. Official forecast: uk-air.defra.gov.uk. Air quality data by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), based on Copernicus CAMS.