How bad is the air we breathe?

Air pollution is creating big problems. Scientists say it is a leading cause of climate change, which will be the subject of a major report to be released next week by the IPCC, a UN body that is studying the issue.

Another problem is damage to health. Scientists believe that air pollution harms the quality of our lives, and shortens them too. So how bad is the air in the UK? And what can be done to improve matters?

CONTRIBUTORS Andrew Grieve, Air Quality Analyst at the Environmental Research Group at King's College London Fiona Godlee, Editor, The BMJ Audrey de Nazelle, Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Environmental policy, Imperial College Gavin Shaddick, Professor of Data Science and Statistics, University of Exeter