Air Pollution: How is children’s lung health affected by dirty air? Not all health problems are immediately obvious

Ana Santi is so worried about her six-year-old daughter breathing dirty air that she is considering moving out of the capital, away from west London where her family is happy and settled.

“We have a great school, the gorgeous Richmond Park, good friends, work here and yet we have started to consider a move to the West Country for one reason only: air pollution,” says Santi, who is  part of Mums  For Lungs, a campaign group demanding stronger action  on pollution.

“The South Circular at the end of our road resembles a car park most days — whatever time of day, but especially at rush hour.”

Santi’s daughter has recently developed asthma. “We notice a huge difference in the frequency of her cough when we’re in London compared to the countryside. We don’t want to leave London but we’re being forced to because of [political] inaction. As much as we love it, it’s not worth it when it puts people’s health at risk.”

Not all children will necessarily show symptoms of the long-term damage being done to their lungs. Dr Ian Mudway from the School of Public Health at Imperial College, London led a six-year study with London children that showed dirty air was affecting the development of children’s lungs in the city.

“Most children were showing evidence of stunted lung development,” he said, noting that most of the children were living and going to school in areas that did not comply with EU limits for Nitrogen dioxide.

People often overlook the long-term effects of breathing dirty air, he argues — and just because children aren’t displaying signs of health problems doesn’t mean they won’t experience them in later life. “If in early life, your organs don’t develop optimally and you’re not attaining your biological peak, this puts you  on a really bad trajectory for the rest of your life.