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Andrew Leech
I’ve been helping teams go green for over a decade! Ready to green your fleet?
When summer arrives, you’d expect fresh air, blue skies and a gentle breeze. But for many of us, summer air can feel heavier, hazier, and harder to breathe. So, is pollution really worse in summer? The answer’s not as straightforward as you might think.
What Actually Happens in Summer?
While winter pollution tends to come from things like fireplaces, wood stoves, and longer engine idling, summer brings its own set of challenges. The heat and sunshine create perfect conditions for pollutants to react and linger in the air, particularly in urban areas.
One key issue is ground-level ozone. It’s not the good kind of ozone (the protective layer up in the stratosphere). This version forms when nitrogen oxides from engines react with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in sunlight. And in hot weather, that reaction speeds up, creating more ozone right where we’re breathing.
Summer Haze: What’s in the Air?
That classic shimmering summer haze isn’t just heat. It’s often a mix of:
Ozone gas
Soot and fine particulates
Diesel fumes from delivery vans and idle vehicles
Dust, pollen and pollutants bonded into the atmosphere
Together, these create a toxic cocktail for your lungs. High ozone levels can inflame the airways, cause coughing, tightness in the chest, and make symptoms worse for anyone with hayfever, asthma or respiratory issues.
And don’t forget the ice cream vans, many of which still run on diesel and sit with engines running to keep things cold. They might be delivering joy, but they’re also contributing to localised pollution hotspots in parks, housing estates and town centres.
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Employees Going Green
Is It All Bad News?
Not entirely. Thanks to the growing shift to electric vehicles (EVs), there’s real hope for cleaner summer air in the near future.
With more battery-powered cars, buses and delivery vans on the roads, fewer nitrogen oxides and particulates are being released into the air in the first place. Cities are also rolling out low-emission zones and phasing out older diesel vehicles, which is already improving local air quality.
EVs aren’t perfect. Yes, power stations still produce emissions, but the overall environmental impact is far lower. And when charged from renewable energy, the impact drops further still.
Can Weather Help Clean the Air?
Absolutely. If you’ve ever noticed how the air feels fresher after a thunderstorm, you’re not imagining it. Rain helps clear the air, washing away the particulates that stick to ozone. Thunderstorms also bring fast-moving winds, which disperse stagnant air where pollutants tend to settle.
So when pollution levels spike, a crashing summer storm really can bring relief, at least temporarily.
A Breath of Fresh Air for the Future
While summer pollution is still a challenge, things are changing. From cleaner transport to smarter city planning, and from personal EV adoption to nationwide emissions targets, we’re moving in the right direction.
The more we switch to electric vehicles, support clean air initiatives, and plan travel with the environment in mind, the better our summers will feel, and the healthier they’ll be for everyone.
Want to help clear the air this summer?
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