We were recently visiting the UK and really struggled with the pollution. This was really noticeable in the area where we used to live. We had blocked sinus, headaches and stuffy noses.
I felt constantly grubby and yucky despite regularly showering etc.
It really impacted on our trip and I wondered if anyone else had noticed anything similar?

Because NZ is so clean and green, eh? I find if I spend any length of time outside in NZ during winter months I come home stinking like a smoked kipper. If go out for a walk after work I can't wait to get into the shower as I can't bear the smell of smoke that clings on my hair; even my cats come home stinking of smoke. Walking past some homes you can't help but wonder what the hell they are burning.

Depends where you were in the UK and I doubt that someone from Ledaig in Scotland will say the air in Auckland was so much cleaner. There are many forms of pollution and being in a less populated area with less traffic and factories will always be different than living in a huge city like Auckland, London, Los Angeles etc.


I agree with Bo-Jangles and here in Ireland we have fewer people but sometimes I wonder what people are burning, then you have weed killer and people dumping litter too.

We were in London and the north-west of England in June. Never noticed any significant pollution at all. I'd say I notice more here with the number of diesel powered vehicles chugging around, plus diesel powered lawn mowers etc. Not to mention the noise pollution from them.

I suffer far more chest problems here than I did in the UK. Also come out in weird rashes too. My hair is really dull here but it improved when we were in Europe. The only place I felt grubby was in the south of Spain, near Jerez.

Welcome to Instagram New Zealand. The photos look great, but the reality is something else ...

Raybon Kan: New Zealand - Looking great from a distance

You should consider a water softener. Doesn't cost the world and really makes a huge difference.

As people moving or living in the UK, or visiting the UK, usually use the MBTTUK forum, I'll shift this thread there, as those posters will be better able to comment.

Depends where you are. I am in a rural area and the only pollution I see is the plastic on our beaches.

Where did you go? I live in a Devon seaside resort and the air here (although a touch too damp), is very much cleaner and fresher than London and other industrial areas.

I find the air pollution in London difficult to deal with. I first started having a problem with it back in the eighties, and it was a factor in my decision to move away in the mid-nineties. It has got worse since. But outside London I don't usually have a problem.

But then came Red Ken with his silly policies.
Problem solved.
But later came Call me Dave and BoJo.
Problem back again.
And then (perhaps) comes Brexit and then the clock goes back to the 1950s.

But that's just London and WTF cares about that shithole?

Does this mean that you won't be visiting the UK again?

Which part of the UK were you visiting?

Are there any pollution issues or places in parts of New Zealand?

Have never been affected by any of that on the Wirral peninsula, nor in Liverpool. Like others have said, I'd have though it would be very dependent on the area.

It is estimated that air pollution causes an astonishing extra 40,000 to 50,000 earlier deaths each year in the UK.

It could have been the back to back long haul flights. On average it is one 10 hr flight and one 13 hr flight, give or take a few hours. That's not at all good for the respiratory system.

Yes. There are assorted pollution & air quality issues in NZ.