Air quality and noise
How clean is the air, and how loud is the road?
Enter a postcode to see the air pollution for the area against the UK’s legal limits and the World Health Organization’s guidelines, whether it’s in a council Air Quality Management Area, and road and rail noise by day and at night. Both come from Defra’s maps.
The pollutants, and the limits
Figures are yearly averages in micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³). The UK’s legal limits are what councils must meet. The World Health Organization’s 2021 guidelines are much lower, and most of England is above them for fine particles.
- Nitrogen dioxide
- Legal limit 40, WHO guideline 10. Mostly from road traffic, especially diesel engines. Highest beside busy roads and in town centres.
- Fine particles (PM2.5)
- Legal limit 20, WHO guideline 5. Tiny particles from traffic, wood burning, industry and farming, some blown in from far away. The pollutant most linked with harm to health.
- Particles (PM10)
- Legal limit 40, WHO guideline 15. Larger particles, including dust from brakes, tyres and roads, building work and the sea.
Air Quality Management Areas
A council declares an Air Quality Management Area where a legal limit is being missed, or is likely to be, usually for nitrogen dioxide along busy roads. It then has to publish a plan to improve the air there. Being inside one doesn’t mean every street in it is polluted, but it’s worth knowing which road the problem is on.
Reading the noise figures
Noise is in decibels. The day figure is a 24-hour average that counts evening and night noise as louder, because it disturbs more; the night figure covers 11pm to 7am. Every 10 dB sounds about twice as loud. The World Health Organization links road noise above 53 dB over the day, or 45 dB at night, with poorer sleep and health; for rail the guidelines are 54 dB and 44 dB.
The maps are modelled from 2021 traffic, 4 m above the ground, and start at 40 dB. A place off the map isn’t silent, just quieter than that, or not modelled.
What to ask before you sign
- Which rooms face the road? A bedroom at the back of the building can be much quieter than the figure for the street.
- Are the windows double or secondary glazed, and can the home be aired without opening the windows onto the road?
- Is there a busy junction, bus stop or taxi rank right outside? Those raise pollution at the kerb above the background figure.
- Is there building work, a new road or a rail line planned nearby? The planning applications in a RenterCheck report show what’s been applied for.
Where this comes from
Air pollution is Defra’s background pollution map for each 1 km square, projected from 2021 to this year; right beside a busy road it’s usually higher. Noise is Defra’s strategic noise mapping (2022). Air Quality Management Areas are Defra’s list. All are modelled rather than measured. See our sources for the details.
Check the property
Run a free check on the property before you commit.
Complete RenterCheck adds Defra’s road and rail noise maps for the home, day and night, and the air pollution for the area.