Alex's story

"you really can tell the difference in air in the city. It's fine out at KareKare (beach) but when I drive in to town the air is noticeably worse"

Lydia's story

"After growing up on a farm then coming to Auckland, I could certainly tell a difference. Surprisingly the difference wasn't as big as I expected, but still enough to notice.I found the air when breathing in is a lot heavier and dirtier than what I was used to. When moving to the big city, I first noticed the differences in air when going for a run one morning. I really found it a lot harder to exercise outside because of the air quality than it is back home. The thick, smokey air wasn't pleasant to gasp for when going for a run! The feel to was something I also noticed, especially when in the CBD. The air feels dense and with all the car fumes surrounding it makes it hard to stay in the city for a long period of time. I always find when coming back from the city, I'm in desperate need of a shower."

Jane's story

"When I moved back to NZ after living for 14 years in the UK, I initially found the Auckland air quality much cleaner than I had experienced in London. However, my daughter, aged 5, developed asthma after arriving in Auckland, she had never suffered from this condition before.

We then spent 6 years living in Waiheke Island. On returning to Auckland in 2008 I really noticed the poor air quality. Compared to Waiheke it felt heavy and dense, living close to the CBD made this more apparent. I especially noticed this when running or walking my lungs felt laboured and polluted with every breath.I was saddened to recently read that the figures in July reported that more than 700 Aucklanders die from air pollution every year."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/5690388/Auckland-air-worse-than-Sydneys

Jonathan's story

"When I get off the train to get to work, it releases a huge cloud of diesel fumes. I can feel it in my lungs, hurting my system. There is also a childcare centre right next to the train station. The city council should be protecting us with their public transport systems, not killing us."

Wagma's story

"In comparison with overseas cities New Zealand air is clear and beautiful to breathe. Auckland has little population compared to these places, but for all that traffic emissions are increasing to higher levels and some days a haze clouds the atmosphere especially over the city. Luckily Auckland is exposed to high winds which leave it haze-free most of the time.

Occasionally the weather patterns trap fog low to the ground and this in turn traps car emissions from escaping into the atmosphere and is a bad look for a city which prides its self on a clean green image. In situations like this feelings tend to be giving rise to depression, sadness, and lethargy. The opposite is true of a beautiful sunshine day when spirits rise, songs flip off your lips and energy is there to burn.

The New Zealand Herald this week showed a picture of a young cyclist wearing a mask to prevent the poisonous gases penetrating his lungs. If he is a frequent traveller on city routes this would be of importance but to a casual visitor would not.
Auckland air has continued to deteriate and needs a clean air programme."

Nico's story

“As an international student from the Philippines, I was actually quite surprised by the sheer cleanliness of Auckland’s air. Compared to my home country, Auckland’s air feels lighter, colder, and fresher while my country’s air feels heavier, hotter, and staler. There are less visible dust particles in the air and, for reasons I can’t explain, it sometimes feels safe enough to take a deep breath even when beside a street like Queen St. I feel that the reason behind this is because New Zealand has more wind, which constantly brings in fresher air from the sea.

The first time I arrived in Auckland, I instantly noticed how clear the city was from my window seat on the plane. It was a good sunny day in Auckland and I still remember thinking to myself, “Wow, so clean!” I noticed that I get sick less often now then in the Philippines. This year alone, I’ve only gotten sick once.

People living in Auckland or New Zealand in general should be grateful that they are blessed with cleaner air that has less harmful effects on themselves and to the Earth.”

Stephanie's story

"I’ve lived in Auckland my whole life and to be honest was unaware of the brown smog cloud lingering over the city. I don’t have any breathing or health problems, but I have heard from a lot of people who have come to Auckland city from overseas or from other parts of New Zealand and have developed asthma or get sick of a cold more regularly. This may be due to the humidity, but I’m sure a lot of the trapped pollution beneath the clouds is to blame.

I notice the air at its worst when I’m sitting in or walking past traffic, the smell of dusty fumes is unbearable and I feel like it has some kind of harmful effect on my body, even in just those few minutes."