The modern smog definitely exists - sorry Dai. It's really thick, and hangs like a haze. We get it quite a bit here, to the point that we have special smog speed limits for when it's bad. The normal motorway speed limit of 120kmph drops to 70kmph, or even 50kmph AND the traffic police enforce it! We live about 10 miles outside Brussels, on a raised area of land (positively hilly for most of Belgium!!), and even here, when there is a smog warning, you can taste it in the air - sort of metallic - yuck!! Here it's caused by still air, as has previously been mentioned, and a build-up of polutants, especially those emitted by traffic. tbh, I'm not surprised you have it at the moment in ol' Blighty. Generally here the air quality is far higher than in the UK, but because of your island status and the breezes that come in from the sea, you tend not to get the still air that can hang over mainland Europe. I think you are being a little cheeky to blame Europe for your smog though - there are far more cars on the road in the UK than here in Belgium!!
You're right Pete - it's looking pretty hazy this morning.... I'll admit I assumed it was going to be affecting mainly cities.
We drove in to town quiet early this morning 8.30ish and when i looked across to where our village and the surrounding villages are there was definetley some sort of haze that we could see,very much like a thin coating of fog.The temperature in the car was showing as 14c so it wasn't a heat haze we could see and Mr Kandy said it wasn't hot enough to be humidity. The sky was nice and blue with no clouds and we live in the Midlands:D
that's the stuff I'm on about, Kandy. You can't always see it when you're "under" it (unless it's really, really bad), but you can if you look across it, from a higher vantage point....
Must admit its cleared today and there seems to be more movement in the air, just a great summers day. Oh I forgot, its still spring. On the imported smog Idea Sian, its a well known fact that an easterly flow from the continent can pull in pollution from as far as Poland to the UK, we even got some fallout from Chernobyl so if the wind is in the right direction you can get all kinds of stuff from your neighbours. Some of my Neighbours. Think the barbie got out of hand.:D
No doubt if the dry spell goes on for a good while the Government will issue a 'Nanny State' warning along the lines of 'Stay indoors and cancel all non essential travel or you will die'.
Monday 25 April 2011 to Sunday 1 May 2011 Chance of showers increases but dry weather rules. Hello everyone Late April should have more fine and dry weather. The chances of scattered showers will increase slightly in both western Scotland and the Midlands but these areas will be the exception to the rule. Sunshine amounts could be well above average, with temperatures responding to these higher levels. Rainfall will be well below the norm, except perhaps in the Midlands, where showers could be heavy. Monday 2 May 2011 to Sunday 15 May 2011 Little change in the overall pattern The headline tells the tale. There will, of course, be some variation in shower distribution through the period. Temperatures will also vary depending on wind direction. Coastal sites, especially those bordering the North Sea, will always take something of a hit with onshore breezes. The general theme, however, is to keep temperatures in southern and western areas of the British Isles above average, with other parts not too far behind. Sunshine amounts will also be up, especially away from East Anglia and southeast England, where showers may become prevalent at times.
Thank God for that Lyn . Does that Eliminate the poor Cows breaking too much wind as they graze in the fields :D.
