Key Summary
- A new study shows that children's lung growth trajectories improved after the rollout of clean air policies in London.
- Researchers monitored over 3,000 pupils aged six to nine across central London and Luton (a comparator town without clean air zones) over a four-year period.
- The proportion of children with clinically impaired lung function dropped from 14% to 9% in London, compared to a smaller drop from 9% to 7% in Luton.
Children’s lung capacity improved significantly after high-polluting vehicles were restricted under London’s low and ultra-low emission zones (ULEZ), according to a study.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London and Oxford University examined over 3,000 school children aged six to nine in central London and Luton before and after the introduction of the ultra low low emissions zones (ulez) and found that the London children’s lung capacity was restored to healthy levels after it was initially stunted by exposure to pollution.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the University of Oxford tracked more than 3,000 school pupils aged six to nine in central London and Luton over four years.
They found that London children whose lung development had been stunted by roadside air pollution saw their lung capacity recover toward healthy, normal trajectories following the introduction of the zones.
Luton was used as a comparator site because it is an urban area outside London without designated clean air policies.
Over the four-year study period, the percentage of children suffering from impaired lung capacity dropped significantly in London from 14% to 9%, while Luton saw a smaller change from 9% to 7%.
“To our knowledge, we provide the first evidence that air quality improvements following introduction of a clean air zone are associated with improved lung growth trajectories in children,” the study’s authors wrote.
“This evidence supports wider implementation of clean air zones as a public health intervention,” the study says, arguing that it marks an evidentiary breakthrough for an initiative which in the past had been criticised for burdening drivers.
The findings deliver substantial clinical backing for clean air zones, which have faced political debate over driver charges since Mayor of London Sadiq Khan first launched the policy.
Commenting on the vulnerability of younger populations, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan previously highlighted the physiological risks facing pupils: “Young children are the first to feel the impact of air pollution. They breathe faster than adults, and more often through their mouths, allowing more pollution to pass into their bodies. Their heads are lower to the ground, too, meaning they’re closer to vehicle exhausts pumping out poisonous chemicals. And, because they’re still growing, long-term exposure to air pollution can do lasting damage to their development, leading to problems such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer when they’re older.”
