BBC: "Great Smog 60 years on: 'New laws needed to clean London's air'"

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"Sixty years ago, thick smog descended on London, contributing to the deaths of an estimated 4,000 people.

The four-day 'pea-souper', while worse than usual, was a familiar experience for Londoners.

"Visibility was so poor, buses and taxis ground to a halt, forcing commuters to hurry underground to use the Tube."
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"[2012] ... Lawyer Alan Andrews, of environmental organisation ClientEarth, says an estimated 4,300 Londoners now die each year as a result of air pollution (29,000 UK-wide, according to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

"This is no longer because of coal fires, but is put down to nitrogen dioxide, caused mainly by traffic fumes, he said."

"The UK is failing to meet European Union (EU) air quality standards.

"London is thought to have the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide of any capital city in the EU, with levels on some of London's busiest roads, such as Brixton Road and Putney High Street, currently more than triple legal limits," he said.

ClientEarth says the government's own plans show 16 regions and cities will not achieve legal limits for air quality until 2020, and London will have "illegal levels of air pollution until 2025".