Smog, Stories and Solutions: 70 years of the UK Clean Air Act
5 November 2026
A Royal Meteorological Society event co-organised by EPCC's Kirsty Pringle will bring together scientists, historians and policymakers to discuss this vital topic.
London was pretty polluted in the 1950s, with “pea souper” smogs regularly blanketing the city. So when smog formed on 5 December 1952, most people went on as normal. But this one, now known as the Great Smog of London, was particularly severe. It lasted five days and led to over 4000 deaths, with up to 12,000 in the longer term. The smog prompted a public inquiry and, four years later, the UK Clean Air Act, Britain’s first national legislation to tackle air pollution directly.
This summer saw the 70th anniversary of the UK Clean Air Act. To mark the occasion, I am co-organising a Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) national public meeting with Prof Jim McQuaid, exploring the past, present and future of air quality in the UK and around the world.
“Smog, Stories and Solutions: 70 Years since the UK Clean Air Act” is a half-day meeting on 11th November in London, which will bring together scientists, historians and policymakers.
The event will be opened by Baroness Jenny Jones, who is steering the new Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill through Parliament. Gary Fuller (Imperial College London) will give the first keynote talk on the 1952 smog and the Clean Air Act, and Ally Lewis (University of York) will then discuss where we go from here. Other talks will cover the history of air pollution (Kath Davies) and work towards air pollution legislation around the world (Christa Hasenkopf). All talks are aimed at a non-expert audience.
The afternoon will close with my talk on “The Air Quality Chronicles”, exploring how air pollution has shaped daily life and culture over time.
The meeting is part of a wider anniversary programme which includes a paper in the RMetS journal Weather and a special issue of Atmospheric Science Letters, “The UK Clean Air Act – Clear Skies ahead?”, which is open for submissions.
Meeting details
- Wednesday 11 November 2026, 13:00 to 17:00
- The Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BA
- Free to attend. Registration is in person only and requires an RMetS account, which non-members can create.
The meeting is open to everyone, from academic researchers to members of the public interested in environmental history and policy. For the full programme and to register, visit the Royal Meteorological Society event page.