Public health leaders come together to improve air quality

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will today join public health leaders, including the Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty, to discuss how they can work together to tackle air pollution.

For the first time, London’s Public Health Forum has brought together senior health experts from across the capital to discuss the impact of air pollution on health. Other speakers include Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah and London Regional Director of Public Health, Professor Kevin Fenton.

The group will also discuss the measures currently being taken at a national, regional and local level to improve air quality and identify what more can be done to support more Londoners to have access to better indoor and outdoor air quality.  

Air pollution is a matter of life and death, leading to thousands of Londoners a year dying prematurely. If no additional action was taken to reduce air pollution, around 550,000 Londoners would develop diseases attributable to air pollution over the next 30 years and the cumulative cost to the NHS and the social care system is estimated to be £10.4 billion.

Despite the Mayor’s interventions meaning good progress has been made, 97 per cent of schools and colleges in outer London still exceed revised air quality targets set by the World Health Organization, [2]. In around 75 per cent of these areas in outer London, air pollution remains so high that it exceeds even lower air quality targets set in 2005.

Last week, the Mayor took a bold new step in the fight against toxic air by announcing the London-wide expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone next year, heralding cleaner air for five million more people. This action will bring clean air to some of the boroughs with the highest numbers of pollution-related deaths in London, including Barnet, Bromley, Croydon and Havering.

Expanding the ULEZ in August 2023 will also help to tackle the global climate emergency, reduce congestion and bring the Mayor closer to achieving his pledge to make London a net-zero carbon city by 2030.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “I have made very clear my determination to clean up London’s filthy air with my recent announcement that the Ultra Low Emission Zone will be expanded London-wide. This bold action will mean five million more Londoners breathing cleaner air and all the money raised will be invested into improving public transport.   

“I am doing all I can in London to reduce air pollution, but our efforts alone will not enough. We need to all work together – the Government, public bodies and health organisations – collaborating and using our collective strength to go further and faster than ever to tackle the scourge of toxic air.”

Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer said: “Air pollution affects us all. It is associated with impacts on lung development in children, heart disease, stroke, cancer, exacerbation of asthma and increased mortality, among other health effects.

“Air pollution is everybody’s problem, but it has improved, and will continue improving provided we are active in tackling it.”

Professor Kevin Fenton, London regional director for public health, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, said: “Improving air quality is a key public health priority for London, and tackling it together is crucial to reducing the health impacts and disparities seen across communities in our city. Air pollution can be harmful to everyone but some people are more affected because they are exposed to higher levels of air pollution in their day-to-day lives, they live in a polluted area, or are more vulnerable to the harm caused by air pollution such as children, the elderly and people with heart disease or respiratory conditions such as asthma. Addressing and reducing air pollution together as a city will protect the health and wellbeing of Londoners now, and for future generations to come.”