Diesel cars removed from city center. A few years later, children's lungs became healthier

Restrictions for cars with high levels of harmful emissions cause controversy in many cities. In London, however, such measures have been in effect for several years: in 2019, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was introduced there. A fee must be paid for entering it with a vehicle that does not meet the specified environmental standards.

The main goal of such restrictions is to reduce air pollution from transport. Until recently, however, there were no results from long-term observations that would allow assessing how these measures directly affected the health of residents. Recently, a group of British scientists published the results of such a study, which National Geographic Polska highlights.

Natural Experiment

British researchers took advantage of a unique "natural experiment." They observed over 3400 children who were between six and nine years old at the start of the study.

Approximately half of the children lived in London, where ULEZ was in effect. The second group consisted of schoolchildren from Luton — a city approximately 56 kilometers from the British capital, where no similar zone existed.

Luton, however, cannot be called a place with perfectly clean air. It is an industrial city that also faces pollution problems. Therefore, researchers could compare children living in an urban environment but under different rules regarding car emissions.

Annually, specialists visited schools and checked children's lung function. They measured the volume of air a person can forcefully exhale in the first second. This indicator allows monitoring how lungs develop with age.

Changes in Lungs

As the authors note, before the introduction of ULEZ, the indicators of London children were worse than those of their peers from Luton. This indicated slower lung development.

But in subsequent years, the difference began to disappear. After the introduction of the ultra-low emission zone, the lungs of children in London grew on average about 10 milliliters per year faster than those of children in the control group. Just four years after the introduction of strict rules, the lung volume of young Londoners equaled the indicators of children from Luton.

The number of children with clinically reduced lung function also changed. Before the introduction of restrictions, about 14% had this condition, and after five years, it was about 9%.

The researchers also noticed another change: thanks to cleaner air, London schoolchildren began to reach classes much more often on foot or by bicycle.

The authors of the study note that the results provide grounds for optimism. They show that reducing exposure to polluted air during the period when a child's body is still developing can have a measurable positive effect.

At the same time, they warn against concluding that the problem has already been solved. Air pollution levels in both London and Luton still exceed the indicators recommended by the World Health Organization.

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