09 September 2026
Air pollution is a public health crisis contributing to an estimated 30,000 deaths in the UK in 2025 (Royal College of Physicians [RCP], 2025). There is no safe level of air pollution (RCP, 2025). It silently and insidiously affects us across the whole life course (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health [RCPCH], 2024). The cumulative effect of breathing toxic air significantly impacts health outcomes, with a strong causal link between air pollution and development of lung conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Jiang et al, 2016). Breathing polluted air significantly worsens symptoms like cough, wheeze, chest tightness and breathlessness for people of all ages living with a lung condition. Breathing air that is polluted causes asthma attacks and asthma deaths (Stoianova et al, 2024). Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to the multi-system effects of air pollution (RCPCH, 2024).
