Carbon monoxide annual trends, 2011-2020

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas. The most common sources of carbon monoxide are from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels such as fuel used by vehicles, and from wood and coal, commonly burnt in fires for home heating. Other common sources of carbon monoxide are tobacco smoke and indoor gas fires. It also occurs naturally, for example, from volcanoes and wildfires.

Carbon monoxide can affect human health by interfering with the blood’s ability to absorb and circulate oxygen and by aggravating heart conditions. It has a relatively long life in the atmosphere – about three months. This is due to the slow rate at which carbon monoxide oxidises, forming carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas). Carbon monoxide also has an important role in forming smog.

This dataset reports on the annual trends assessed for the period 2011-2020.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.