GLASGOW is the latest city to fully enforce a Low Emission Zone, to reduce pollution and improve air quality.

From June 1 the LEZ will apply to all vehicles entering the city centre.

Cities across Europe have introduced similar schemes over a number of years and many English cities have their own versions of the LEZ or a Clean Air Zone.

In a spotlight series, this week the Glasgow Times is looking at the LEZ, what it means and why it is being implemented.

READ MORE:Spotlight: Glasgow's new LEZ coming soon. Here's what you need to know

London, notoriously bad for pollution, has had an Ultra Low Emission Zone in place.

Many others including Birmingham, Bristol and Newcastle have also put zones in place.

In Europe, many of the big cities have some form of emission controls.

Paris has Zero Emissions Zone, Rome an LEZ, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Madrid and Milan are just some which have a form of LEZ.

In London, the ULEZ is in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

While Glasgow’s LEZ will cover the city centre from the River Clyde in the south to the M8 boundary in the west and north and High Street/Saltmarket in the east, London’s scheme covers a wider area.

In Glasgow, non-compliant vehicles are not permitted to enter but in London and in other cities they need to pay a charge, as well as the congestion charge of £12.50.

Later this year the London ULEZ will be extended to cover all of the city’s boroughs.

In Glasgow, there are no plans to extend the zone outside the city centre as it is believed the impact on the single zone will have benefits for the whole city.

Angus Millar, Glasgow’s transport convenor, said that the council knows the LEZ will work to improve air quality because it has worked elsewhere.

READ MORE:'We know this is going to work' transport convener says LEZ is right

The London scheme was introduced in central London 2019 and extended to inner London two years later.

Glasgow Times:

A recent report showed the ULEZ has reduced pollution, with harmful nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels 46 per cent lower in central London and 21 per cent lower in inner London than they would have been without the scheme.

As a result of the expansion of the ULEZ in inner London, NOx emissions have reduced by 23 per cent (13,500 tonnes) across London cumulatively since 2019 compared with what they would have been without the ULEZ.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: “The evidence is clear, the ULEZ works. This is beyond dispute.

“It has already reduced toxic air pollution by almost half in central London and by over a fifth in inner London, transforming the quality of air for four million Londoners. 

“But there’s still more to do. Toxic air is a matter of life and death, with around 4,000 deaths in London attributed to air pollution in 2019. It’s also stunting the growth of children’s lungs and causing people to develop life-changing illnesses, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.

“With the majority of deaths attributable to air pollution in outer London, it’s vital that we expand the ULEZ London-wide.

“As Mayor, I simply won’t accept that the five million people in outer London shouldn’t be able to benefit from the same life-saving health impacts that ULEZ has already brought to the rest of our city.  Everyone has the right to breathe clean air.”