Environmental campaigners are calling for more 'more to be done' to clean up Weymouth's air.

Despite a three-year trend in the quality of Weymouth's air improving, the concentration of particle matter (PM) being breathed in is still too high, and above World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

PM is everything in the air that is not gas and consists of a huge variety of chemical compounds and materials, some of which can be toxic.

WHO guidelines state that safe levels of PM less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter of air, or 5 µg/m3.

In Weymouth, the average level of PM for 2023 was 8 µg/m3, this was 9.3 µg/m3 in 2022 and 10.9 µg/m3 in 2021.

The levels of PM in Weymouth's air are the 75th worst in the UK, out of 219 towns and cities monitored in the UK by IQAir, a Swiss company that monitors air quality across the globe.

The levels are recorded each month from a monitoring station in Overcombe and in 2023 the worst months for air quality in the town were April, May and June, which were all just above or below 12 µg/m3.

This particular air pollution data was only available for Weymouth - but areas of Dorset including Chideock and Dorchester have been badly affected by air pollution and currently have Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) in place.

One of the areas affected most by pollution in Weymouth is Boot Hill (Rodwell Road), which sees hundreds of cars, buses and lorries pass through to and from Wyke Regis and Portland.

Uphill acceleration on the road has been identified as a key contributor to high emissions.

The situation here is likely to get worse with new developments being built and therefore increased traffic.

An air pollution monitor at the busy Wyke Road junction has been inactive for eight years.

In 2021, lorries passing through Weymouth were diverted away from Rodwell Road towards Lanehouse Rocks Road amid air quality concerns in the Boot Hill area.

The Dorset Climate Action Network (DCAN) says poor air quality is an 'invisible killer' and more should be done locally to clean up the air, not just in Weymouth, but across Dorset.

Giles Watts, coordinator at DCAN, said: "Weymouth and many other urban areas are not much better [than Chideock and Dorchester].

"The biggest source of the problem is particulates from cars and wood-burning stoves. Dorset Climate Action Network supports the transition to electric vehicles and also the drive to increase the number of journeys using active travel (walking and cycling) and public transport which both help to improve air quality.

He added: "Wood-burning stoves have been on the rise recently with the cost of energy being so high. However, there are a few simple things people can do to reduce the damaging pollution like using kiln-dried wood of the right type and keeping your chimney swept.

"This autumn, Dorset Climate Action Network will be running a webinar about the pros and cons of wood burning in Dorset."

Cllr Clare Sutton, Dorset Councillor for Rodwell and Wyke, said: "The Royal College of Physicians estimates that 40,000 UK deaths a year are linked to air pollution.

"It’s a big concern within my ward, particularly along Portland Road and on Boot Hill.

"The re-routing of HGVs up Lanehouse Rocks Road has helped a little, and I’m hopeful that the Home Secretary will turn down Powerfuel’s appeal against the decision to reject the Portland waste incinerator, which would generate 80 additional giant HGV journeys per day along Portland Road.

"But there is no magic wand. Fundamentally, we need to encourage more people to leave the car at home and walk, cycle, or use public transport."

Portland councillor Giovanna Lewis says the levels of pollution are 'shocking' and has again questioned the proposed installation of an incinerator on Portland, which could cause more HGVs to pass through Weymouth.