– credit, Fas Khan via Unsplash
A visceral reminder of the dangers of air pollution comes now via an uplifting study which found lung development in children was faster in London’s ultra low-emissions zone (ULEZ).
It compared children between the ages of 6 and 9 living in Central London’s ULEZ with those living in the nearby suburb of Luton. Just over 3,400 agreed to participate.
The study period extended to before the implementation of the ULEZ in 2019, and found that as exhaust emissions like nitrogen dioxide diminished, the advance in children’s lung capacity quickened.
Children were tested for lung function on a device that measures how much air an individual can forcefully breathe out in one second, a measure for lung power, development, and recovery in the case of lung cancer patients.
PPM measurements of exhaust particles fell faster in London than in Luton over the study period, and the scientists at Queen Mary University observed a concurrent acceleration in the development of London children’s lung power, which was recorded as an additional 233 milliliters of air breathed into the device per year, compared with 223 milliliters observed in children from Luton.
At the outset of the study, Luton had less air pollution in the city, and it was the Luton children whose lungs were developing faster. 4 years after the implementation of the ULEZ, the Londoners had bridged the gap with their suburban peers.
Lung development is a key predictor of aspiratory problems in life. The study also found that in Central London, the proportion of children with impaired lung function fell from 14% to 9% as pollution levels dropped. Such impairments may include asthma, and bear consequences for health later in life.
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In general, even though many cities regularly sit far above the World Health Organization’s recommendations for limits on fine particulate matter, cities around the world are reducing air pollution and London stands among them.
In March, GNN reported that 19 out of 100 cities worldwide surveyed for air quality were found to have substantially improved since 2010. The 19 included several of what could be called megalopolis-type cities like Hong Kong and Beijing. Another 7 on Mainland China achieved large pollution reductions.
San Francisco, Warsaw, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Rome, Heidelberg, Berlin, and Paris round out the list.
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