NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Air quality: Tokoroa one of the worst towns in NZ for hazardous air particles

RNZ
29 Sep, 2024 11:59 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

New air quality data shows air pollutants have mostly decreased across the country, but Tokoroa is still one of the worst. Photo / NZME
New air quality data shows air pollutants have mostly decreased across the country, but Tokoroa is still one of the worst. Photo / NZME

New air quality data shows air pollutants have mostly decreased across the country, but Tokoroa is still one of the worst. Photo / NZME

By Libby Kirkby-McLeod of RNZ

New air quality data shows air pollutants have mostly decreased nationwide between 2016-23.

However, according to figures released by Stats NZ, the South Waikato town of Tokoroa is still one of the worst in the country when it comes to hazardous particles in the air.

PM10 and PM2.5 are particles that can be suspended in the air and are less than 10 micrometres and 2.5 micrometres in diameter respectively.

“PM10 can be breathed into lungs and PM2.5 is small enough to enter the bloodstream. Concentrations of particles, gas and liquid in air can be harmful to human health and contribute to health issues such as cardiovascular and respiratory health problems and increased mortality,” Stats NZ environment and agricultural statistics senior manager Stuart Jones said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Tokoroa monitoring site, along with Reefton Area School and Timaru’s Anzac Square, had the highest average number of days at 100% or more of the per-year guideline of PM2.5.

The Tokoroa site was also in the top three for highest average daily exceedences of the PM10 standard per year, along with a site in Timaru and one in Arrowtown.

Waikato Regional Council senior scientist Jonathan Caldwell said Tokoroa’s air was polluted because of a mix of social and environmental reasons.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“We do tend to see in some of our lower socioeconomic areas, people tend to rely on burning wood — especially in Tokoroa where there might be easier access to free or cheaper woods,” he said.

This wood may not be properly seasoned and if wood is quite wet, it puts off a lot more particles that pollute the air.

Discover more

  • Popular Waikato walk to reopen in time for summer
  • NZ one of only seven countries to meet WHO air quality ...
  • Tokoroa air quality improving but still not up to scratch: ...
  • Kinleith off the hook in report on Tokoroa smog - NZ ...

“Also, if your home is not properly insulated, and that’s what we might typically see in some of these lower socioeconomic areas, their homes will be harder to heat so, they may have to burn more fuel to heat the home that’s not properly insulated.”

Added to that is the fact Tokoroa is well inland and gets less wind in winter to blow the pollutants away.

“So, you tend to get inversion layers during the winter where that colder air is trapped below a warmer air above that ... they can’t disperse because wind speeds are very low and so you tend to get those air pollutants accumulating, especially overnight,” Caldwell said.

Other similar-size New Zealand towns close to a coastal area might have the same number of pollutants, but they would be more likely to blow away.

Waikato Regional Council used to fund clean-heat replacements, subsidising new, more efficient wood burners or heat pumps. This fund was cut in the latest regional long-term plan.

The South Waikato District Council could introduce a bylaw to progressively outlaw old wood burners. Rotorua Lakes Council introduced such a bylaw and has had a great improvement in its air quality.

“Rotorua had similar air pollutant problems or air quality as Tokoroa ... and what we’ve seen over that same period of time, since that bylaw has been introduced, is very large improvements in air quality, so the number of exceedances has dropped to pretty much almost zero now,” Caldwell said.

He said it was important for people to know any amount of particles inhaled would affect health, especially if they were vulnerable. He suggested people seek to understand the impact they might be having on their neighbours.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“So, if you have a wood burner and you haven’t really thought too much about how much smoke you’re producing, it’s probably a good idea to — when you light the fire — to go out and go ‘oh, looks quite smoky, maybe I need to do something’.”

If the air looked polluted or smoky, Caldwell suggested avoiding vigorous outdoor activity.

“It’s not a good idea to perhaps go running when you’ve got high pollution levels because you’re taking in more air from your lungs so you’re filtering more particulate through your lungs,” he said.

– RNZ

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

World

Israel conducts ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran

New Zealand

'Pretty cold': Wet weather grips Hawke's Bay before sunny break

13 Jun 12:52 AM
live
Politics

Watch live: PM Luxon speaks after Israel conducts ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran

13 Jun 12:32 AM

It was just a stopover – 18 months later, they call it home

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Fox avoids major carnage to sit 33rd at US Open
Golf

Fox avoids major carnage to sit 33rd at US Open

13 Jun 12:48 AM
Mayor urges Govt support to keep Air Chathams flights
Bay of Plenty Times

Mayor urges Govt support to keep Air Chathams flights

13 Jun 12:37 AM
Truck breakdown causes delays on SH2, no detour available
Bay of Plenty Times

Truck breakdown causes delays on SH2, no detour available

13 Jun 12:36 AM
Watch live: PM Luxon speaks after Israel conducts ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran
Politics

Watch live: PM Luxon speaks after Israel conducts ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran

13 Jun 12:32 AM
Israel conducts ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran
World

Israel conducts ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran

13 Jun 12:32 AM

Latest from New Zealand

'Pretty cold': Wet weather grips Hawke's Bay before sunny break

'Pretty cold': Wet weather grips Hawke's Bay before sunny break

13 Jun 12:52 AM

Showers and cold temperatures are expected in Hawke's Bay from Friday evening.

Watch live: PM Luxon speaks after Israel conducts ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran
live

Watch live: PM Luxon speaks after Israel conducts ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran

13 Jun 12:32 AM
Man arrested after violent home invasion in East Tamaki, Auckland NZ

Man arrested after violent home invasion in East Tamaki, Auckland NZ

Estate agent Yanfei Bao's killer booted from courtroom after angry outbursts

Estate agent Yanfei Bao's killer booted from courtroom after angry outbursts

13 Jun 12:03 AM
The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE
sponsored

The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search