Rise in UK wood-burners likely to be creating ‘pollution hotspots’ in affluent areas

‘People need to understand that the wood smoke that fills their neighbourhood is as harmful as the air pollution from traffic or industry,’ says researcher Gay Fuller. Photograph: lucentius/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A sharp rise in wood burning in urban areas could be bringing harmful pollution to greater numbers of people, and shifting the pattern of pollution from poorer to more affluent areas, one of the UK’s leading air pollution experts has warned.

Currently, air pollution monitoring focuses on busy roads, which have been the main hotspots for fine particulate matter (known as PM2.5) and other air pollutants, largely from diesel vehicles.