vicswift retweeted
On the upside, the £36bn the Tories plan to take away from the sick and disabled will just about cover the £37bn they gave Dido Harding to run the Test and Trace XL spreadsheet
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vicswift retweeted
Using Badenoch's rationale, why isn't she an Olympian or world renowned astrophysicist?
Kemi Badenoch cites a double amputee who ran a marathon and an autistic man who runs a company as justification for cutting disability benefits. There are 268,965 people on PIP whose main condition is autism and 106,087 whose main condition is ADHD. Only around a third of working-age autistic people are in employment. Using two exceptional cases to withdraw support from hundreds of thousands of others is not good policy. It’s people’s lives. This is morally outrageous and shows the utter contempt she has for the most vulnerable.
❤️💫
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vicswift retweeted
Imagine your job was to make the public doubt Long COVID. You wouldn't try to prove it isn't real. You'd just make it look unsettled, forever. That's the playbook that kept tobacco and climate science "debatable" for decades. Here's what it would look like applied to Long COVID:
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vicswift retweeted
🚨 BREAKING: Piedralaves, a town of more than 2000 people is being evacuated over fears the Horcajo dam could overflow following heavy rainfall.
Residents have been sent emergency phone alerts telling them to evacuate to a local school and sports hall.
Southern Avila is under a RED rain warning with schools closed across 32 towns.
Residents have been sent emergency phone alerts telling them to evacuate to a local school and sports hall.
Southern Avila is under a RED rain warning with schools closed across 32 towns.
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vicswift retweeted
On the Mayoral pollution alert - the monitors show low levels (1/2) now compared to the weekend when there was a pollution episode (9/10) due to fireworks /wood burning. The salient point is why the alert wasn’t issued at the weekend? AQ campaigners want a national alert system.
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About five days late.
I’m triggering a high air pollution alert for London on Tuesday 10 November.
I urge everyone in the capital, especially those most vulnerable, to stay safe and follow health advice to minimise their exposure.
Please switch off engines when idling and avoid burning garden waste, which contributes to pollution.
london.gov.uk/mayor-london-i…
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RT @paulapeters2: Many disabled people became disabled because of the workplace, access needs not met, overwhelming stress couldn’t continu…
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vicswift retweeted
We are currently experiencing very high air pollution in London today.
Everyone should reduce physical exertion, and those more vulnerable to pollution should avoid strenuous activity.
tfl.gov.uk/corporate/abou…
Everyone should reduce physical exertion, and those more vulnerable to pollution should avoid strenuous activity.
tfl.gov.uk/corporate/abou…
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vicswift retweeted
With an N95 mask, at least 95% of the viruses and bacteria in every breath you take are filtered out. With an air purifier, it takes three air changes for 95% of the viruses and bacteria to be filtered out.
The advantage of an N95 mask is that you don’t have to wait for three air changes, and it can block droplets, which an air purifier cannot do directly. Of course, you don’t have to choose one or the other—you can use both at the same time.
The advantage of an N95 mask is that you don’t have to wait for three air changes, and it can block droplets, which an air purifier cannot do directly. Of course, you don’t have to choose one or the other—you can use both at the same time.
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vicswift retweeted
Why, despite a lengthy article, can't the @metofficeUK or the @UKHSA find the space to warn the public about the high PM2.5 and PM10 levels that we have seen alongside dense fog this weekend? Meanwhile @DefraUKAir gets no attention at all, & where is @DHSCgovuk?
@CleanAirLondon
@CleanAirLondon
Met Office issues weather warning amid ‘perfect recipe’ for fog
itv.com/news/2026-11-0…
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vicswift retweeted
#CodeRed: Please @andyburnham ask @metoffice to urgently warn people about EXTREME #AirPollution #Smog - before it's made worse by #bonfires and #fireworks tonight. @angelaeagle @DefraGovUK @UKHSA @DHSCgovuk have failed to do so (again) HT @BarryGardiner @tobyperkinsmp
SMOG WARNING - 74 years after THE GREAT SMOG: EXTREME AIR POLLUTION (10/10) across England on Sun 8 November 2026 from BONFIRES and FIREWORKS
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SMOG WARNING - 74 years after THE GREAT SMOG: EXTREME AIR POLLUTION (10/10) across England on Sun 8 November 2026 from BONFIRES and FIREWORKS
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vicswift retweeted
CODE RED: Widespread EXTREME AIR POLLUTION across UK on Sun 8 Nov 2026. Official: UK does not issue AIR QUALITY WARNINGS. So people have blasted fireworks into the fog for days to create a deadly smog full of toxic metals, smoke and other particles. Will @andyburnham insist on echgovuk @DHSCgovuk has revealed the truth? HT @BarryGardiner
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vicswift retweeted
Did you know that outdoor air comes indoors…
Fireworks weekend 🎆 - Indoor PM2.5 has been unusually high all day as it’s tracking poor outdoor pollution
Been consistently high for over 24 hours.
The air has looked misty all day, but how much is fog and how much is pollution?
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The Commons Environmental Audit Committee is investigating air pollution in England.
This weekend’s severe PM2.5 episode across Lancashire raises urgent questions about monitoring coverage and public warnings.
My PurpleAir monitor opposite Chorley Hospital recorded 168.8 µg/m³ averaged over an hour, with brief peaks exceeding 350. Yet Chorley has no official Defra monitoring station.
Could the committee examine how quality-checked indicative sensors could complement official stations and help trigger timely public health warnings?
@CommonsEAC @CommonsEFRA @CommonsHealth @CommonsSITC ⬇️
This weekend’s severe PM2.5 episode across Lancashire raises urgent questions about monitoring coverage and public warnings.
My PurpleAir monitor opposite Chorley Hospital recorded 168.8 µg/m³ averaged over an hour, with brief peaks exceeding 350. Yet Chorley has no official Defra monitoring station.
Could the committee examine how quality-checked indicative sensors could complement official stations and help trigger timely public health warnings?
@CommonsEAC @CommonsEFRA @CommonsHealth @CommonsSITC ⬇️
I have fond memories of Bonfire Night growing up in the 1980s. Treacle toffee, black peas, jacket potatoes cooked in the bonfire, fireworks lighting up the sky and the occasional rocket going somewhere it shouldn’t!
I don’t want to lose those traditions. But we need to lead with hearts.
What happened across #Lancashire this weekend was unacceptable. Something needs to change.
On Saturday 7 November, a PurpleAir monitor I installed opposite Chorley and South Ribble Hospital recorded an hourly PM2.5 average of 168.8 µg/m³ (US EPA corrected), with brief peaks above 350 µg/m³.
PM2.5 particles can penetrate deep into our lungs, with some entering the bloodstream and increasing the risk of heart and lung disease. The attached illustration shows their size.
Official Defra monitors also recorded high hourly levels: 150 µg/m³ in Wigan, 149 in Blackburn and 119 in Preston. This was widespread pollution, not an isolated sensor reading.
Pollution was elevated before Saturday evening. Fireworks, bonfires and potentially wood burning were likely contributors, while calm, foggy conditions allowed smoke to accumulate.
Consider the hospital opposite my monitor. Were staff warned? Were precautions taken? How well did its ventilation and filtration protect vulnerable patients?
The British Heart Foundation estimates 17,000 people in Chorley have heart and circulatory disease, including 1,900 diagnosed with heart failure. PM2.5 exposure is linked to heart attacks, heart failure admissions and premature death.
So where were the public health warnings?
Defra’s Friday forecast reportedly predicted LOW pollution, with locally MODERATE levels near bonfires. Actual readings were far worse. Why weren’t prominent warnings issued when monitors revealed the danger?
The government launched an opt in air quality alert service in August. But how many people know about it? I’ve monitored pollution for years and hadn’t heard of it. Forecast based alerts can also miss unexpected spikes.
This isn’t new. On Bonfire Night 2022, Wigan Centre recorded the highest hourly PM2.5 reading in Defra’s national monitoring network: 255 µg/m³. Yet the highest daily PM2.5 pollution index was only Moderate.
Daily averages can conceal severe hourly spikes. We need warnings based on what is actually happening.
At home, Saturday’s outdoor PM2.5 average was 89.3 µg/m³, far above the World Health Organization’s daily guideline.
My automated home ventilation has been off since Thursday evening. Despite this, I’ve had to turn up my air purifiers to counter rising indoor PM2.5.
Most households don’t have pollution monitors, ventilation controls or air purifiers. Nor should they need them to breathe reasonably clean air.
We cannot know how many people this episode harmed, but air pollution damages health. The Royal College of Physicians estimates it costs the UK upwards of £27 billion a year.
I’m calling for five changes:
① Prominent pollution warnings, like severe weather alerts, triggered by actual measurements as well as forecasts, with advice to reduce exposure and avoid adding to pollution.
② Specific warnings for vulnerable people, including hospital patients, care home residents and those with heart or lung conditions.
③ Clear reporting of dangerous hourly PM2.5 readings, not just daily averages.
④ A gradual shift from private fireworks to organised displays that can be postponed when weather traps pollution, plus stronger action on domestic wood burning.
⑤ Indoor air quality monitoring in public buildings, starting with hospitals, care homes and schools, with a simple public rating.
We have the technology and evidence to do better. What we need is the political will.
This can’t happen again. Traditions matter. But people’s health matters more.
#BonfireNight #AirPollution #PM25 #PublicHealth #Chorley
aurnhub.defra.gov.uk/sites/default/…
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vicswift retweeted
This is an absolute disgrace @MayorofLondon Why no warnings? This could turn out to be a great smog type situation - many vulnerable people are struggling to breathe yet you wont condemn the fireworks, wood burners & bonfires that have caused this extreme pollution event!
Particulates from bonfires and fireworks have created a recipe for dangerously poor air quality.
My daughter has been up coughing all night. As a parent, it’s incredibly worrying to see air quality like this and have no control over what my child is breathing.
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