Rise in wood-burners in UK likely creating new ‘pollution hotspots’ in affluent areas

Pollution from wood stoves, popular among middle classes, missed from monitoring which focuses on roads but is just as if not more harmful

A sharp rise in wood burning in urban areas could be bringing harmful pollution to greater numbers of people, and shifting the pattern of pollution from poorer to more affluent areas, one of the UK’s leading air pollution experts has warned.

Currently, air pollution monitoring focuses on busy roads, which have been the main hotspots for fine particulate matter (known as PM2.5) and other air pollutants, largely from diesel vehicles.