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It’s no secret that London suffers from worrying levels of air pollution. New analysis by City Hall is just another reminder of that fact – revealing that almost every London school is in an area where air pollution is higher than World Health Organisation (WHO) limits.
The analysis is based on the government's pre-pandemic pollution data from 2019 and WHO limits for particulate matter – one of the two main air pollutants impacting human health (also known as PM2.5).
It found that 3.1m children in England are attending schools in areas exceeding the WHO guidelines for PM2.5: that's a whopping 98% of all London schools, compared to 24% of schools outside of the capital. In other words, children in London are four times more likely to go to school in areas with pollution levels that exceed WHO guidelines, compared to children in the rest of the country. That's some pretty nasty stuff – poor air quality can stunt the growth of children’s lungs and also worsen asthma, heart and lung disease.
The figures come as London's ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) is planned to expand to create a single larger area up to the North Circular Road (A406) and South Circular Road (A205), from 25 October. That means that even more polluting vehicles failing to meet the emissions standards will have to pay a charge to travel. As the fight for cleaner air in the capital continues, here's hoping the new measures have some positive effects sooner rather than later.
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