Motor vehicles account for most of the harm, followed by domestic fires, especially in colder regions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking vehicle exhaust and home heating \u2013 wood burning and coal burning are the largest environmental contributors to health [problems] here in the country,\u201d says Dr Joel Rindelaub, a senior lecturer in the School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Auckland.<\/p>\n
Those emissions generate a range of pollutants: gases including nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, but also fine particles known as PM2.5, which are so small they can slip deep into the lungs, bloodstream, and even the brain.<\/p>\n
Measurements show that urban centres in New Zealand record higher concentrations of black carbon \u2013 the sooty residue from incomplete combustion \u2013 than comparable cities in Europe or North America. And rural towns aren\u2019t immune.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the worst air quality across the motu is in our rural locations, specifically like Central Otago, where during wintertime we\u2019re burning a lot of solid fuel for heat,\u201d Rindelaub says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe topography there creates what\u2019s known as an inversion layer \u2013 basically, it puts a lid on the air, keeping it there and letting concentrations of pollution build up to dangerous levels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rindelaub\u2019s research shows air pollution peaks in winter, and it\u2019s often the smoke from chimneys driving those spikes.<\/p>\n
This is concerning because, though people enjoy the smell of wood fires and beach bonfires, the smoke they produce contains a high number of carcinogenic chemicals.<\/p>\n
Motorways add another burden.<\/p>\n
\u201cTransport corridors are going to have higher concentrations of the two things that current mortality rates and estimations are based off \u2013 nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
In all, he says air pollution leads to more premature deaths annually than diabetes, colon cancer, melanoma and road accidents combined.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the largest environmental threat to human health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Understanding the risk<\/p>\n
Rindelaub\u2019s team has been investigating air quality in Auckland neighbourhoods over recent years and has found some concerning trends.<\/p>\n
In winter, for instance, the researchers recorded high concentrations of arsenic, a carcinogen.<\/p>\n
Though tracking where pollutants come from is complex, every combustion source leaves its own signature.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you\u2019re having combustion events, you\u2019re going to be creating bad things,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we can look at wind directions and air parcel back trajectories, and chemical composition can be indicative for a certain type of source.<\/p>\n
\u201cShipping emissions, for instance, might have an increase in elements like vanadium, which would be unique to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Our Air 2024 report also highlights wide inequalities in exposure, with M\u0101ori, Pacific peoples and lower-income communities breathing the dirtiest air, especially near busy roads or industrial areas.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Rindelaub-headshot-1.jpg\")
Dr Joel Rindelaub, atmospheric chemist at the University of Auckland, says air pollution remains one of Aotearoa\u2019s biggest and most underestimated environmental health threats. Photo: Joel Rindelaub<\/p>\n