Traffic pollution

I happened to meet some old friends in Bridge of Allan who I hadn’t seen for quite some time. But the  noise from the heavy traffic made it impossible for us to talk and we were forced to move into  a side street.
 
That’s when I discovered that Stirling Council have re-routed some traffic and now we are getting massive lorries and inter-city double decker buses going through the main street en route to the motorway.
 
If that wasn’t bad enough, my friends pointed out,  this road has the highest level of pollution of any in Stirlingshire.
 
Today the pollution was very noticeable due to the still air and fog. When I googled it I discovered that the level of pollutants was above the WHO recommended level for the day and the advise was that anyone with lung or heart conditions should stay indoors and it was recommended that you close your windows.
 
This is in a semi rural part of Scotland. What on earth is it like in big cities like Glasgow?