Tuesday, November 5, 2024

A sulphur dioxide plume crossed over the UK today – but should we be concerned?

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The Met Office is continuing to monitor a sulphur dioxide plume that crossed the UK today, amid speculation it could cause sickness.

London, Norwich and Hull are among the cities exposed to the cloud of SO2, which has originated from a volcano in Iceland.

And while the colourless gas does cause symptoms including a sore throat, coughing and difficulty breathing, the Met Office has issued a reassuring statement about its presence in the UK.

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It is “high in the atmosphere” and will have “little influence on ground-level air quality”, the organisation said.

“We’re continuing to monitor any sulphur dioxide release originating from Iceland, with current forecasts suggesting little influence on UK surface air pollution in the coming days,” it added.


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Sulphur dioxide is usually produced from coal or crude oil combustion, but can occur naturally after a volcanic eruption.

Also breaking through the clouds should be a final blast of summer sunshine after the bank holiday weekend, forecasters have said.

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The Met Office said there had been “a taste of autumn” as temperatures fell widely into single figures overnight ahead of a fresh Sunday morning.

It could not say exactly how hot it may get or how long it would last.

Only one location across the entirety of the UK managed to climb above 20C on Saturday as Pershore in Worcestershire reached 20.4C while people in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, had to deal with a temperature of 5.1C.

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