From Mums for Lungs
A Freedom of Information request sent to London Northwest University Healthcare Trust and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust reveals the scale of respiratory problems amongst the youngest children in Brent and Barnet.
In 2023, the latest figures available, 436 children under five were dmitted to hospital with respiratory difficulties. Across 22 London hospitals surveyed, more than 15,000 children were admitted with serious breathing difficulties.
Baby grows Brent: credit Jonathan Goldberg.
L-R: Amandine Alexandre, Sally Toure, Tony Burch, Frances Holloway, Gourav Gourav, Ilaria Esposito, Agnieszka Szewera in Roundwood Park near Northwick Park Hospital. Pic credit: Jonathan Goldberg / Mums for Lungs.
The figures, obtained by air pollution campaigners, Mums for Lungs, have prompted calls to speed up the removal of all diesel vehicles by at least 2030, with some limited exceptions.
Parents have been hanging baby grows that spell out ‘Clean Air Now’ near areas affected by high levels of pollution, all in breach of World Health Organization standards.
Across England as a whole, 15,328 children aged 19 or under were admitted into hospital for serious asthma attacks alone, according to Public Health England figures from 2022/23. For London, the figure is 2,705.
Amandine Alexandre, a parent who lives in Brent and trustee of Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum said,
Although air quality in Brent has improved since 2016, Harlesden High Street is bucking this trend. Thanks to our Breathe London monitoring station, we know that, most days, nitrogen dioxide levels still far exceed the air quality standards set by the World Health Organization in 2021. This is very worrying considering that NO2 irritates our lungs and weakens our immune system. Harlesden residents deserve cleaner air now.”
Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum, a charity responsible for implementing the local neighbourhood plan, was successful in bidding for a Breathe London community node in 2021. The solar powered pollution monitoring station was installed by Imperial College London in March 2022. (It was taken down by Brent council by mistake in the autumn of 2022 and was re-installed on March 30th 2023.) The data can be accessed live on Breathe London. It can also be easily visualised on Air Aware.
The Breathe London Network was established in 2021 as a partnership between the Mayor of London, Imperial College London, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. It is making reliable air quality monitoring data more accessible to local communities by building a network of accurate and reliable air quality sensors across the capital.
Air pollution monitors in Brent and Barnet continue to show high levels of some of the most dangerous forms of pollution - including nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM 2.5).
Due to the small size of many of the particles some of these toxins may enter the bloodstream and be transported around the body, lodging in the heart, brain and other organs. Exposure to PM 2.5 can result in serious impacts to health, especially in vulnerable groups of people such as the young and elderly.
Short-term exposure to concentrations of NO2 can cause inflammation of the airways and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections and to allergens. NO2 can exacerbate the symptoms of those already suffering from lung or heart conditions.
Monitors in Brent show levels of air pollution in some cases close to the legal limits (23 - 33 μg/m3 NO2) and well for PM2.5 above WHO guidelines for 2024 so far as well.
NB. UK legal annual limit values:
NO2 = 40μg/m3, PM2.5 = 20μg/m3.
WHO guidelines:
NO2 = 10μg/m3, PM2.5 = 5μg/m3
Editor's note: The new North Brent Secondary School is due to open in Neasden Lane
Dr Anna Moore, a respiratory doctor who works in a London NHS Hospital, added:
All the evidence shows that there is a clear connection between high levels of air pollution and respiratory conditions. These figures also demonstrate that there are hundreds of children who are in hospital with conditions that could be prevented. At a time when NHS resources are stretched thin, we need to urgently clean up our air, including completely phasing out the most heavily polluting diesel cars, trucks and vans and focus on infrastructure which enables safe walking and cycling as this is vital for long term health.
Jemima Hartshorn, Mums for Lungs, said:
Thousands of children are unable to breathe because of preventable air pollution, this must change. So many children are being admitted to hospitals with serious cases of asthma, and all the evidence shows that damaging lungs at an early age can cause lifelong health conditions. The next national Government, Mayors and local authorities must all use their powers to phase out diesel vehicles and protect children from painful and debilitating health conditions.
Road transport is the largest contributor to air pollution in London and it’s thought that air pollution contributes to around 4,000 early deaths each year in London.
Mums for Lungs have written to the main political party leaders Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer calling for them to discourage people from buying diesel vehicles and to set a target for England to be diesel-free by 2030, with limited exemptions, alongside action on wood burning and creating more School Streets, which restrict car use at drop off and pick up.
