Transport
The school run
Lowest number of children walking to school in rural areas since records began 20 years ago.
31 January 2025
Nearly 114,000 children were admitted to hospital or taken to A&E in London last year with serious breathing problems, according to new figures obtained by Mums for Lungs.
The group of parent campaigners says the scale of the health crisis is linked to toxic air pollution and is urging urgent action from the Mayor of London, local councils and the government.
Recent research revealed that the UK has the highest prevalence of asthma in Europe, and the Royal College of Physicians estimates that 30,000 people die prematurely every year in the UK from air pollution.
Data received under the Freedom of Information Act from NHS Trusts across the capital shows that in just one year, there were 113,736 paediatric respiratory hospital admissions and A&E attendances across London.
This breaks down as around 88,000 A&E admissions, and 26,000 admissions to hospital wards.
‘Every year we see thousands of children in London coming to A&E with severe breathing difficulties, many of whom will have had their symptoms exacerbated by toxic air pollution. With the NHS 10 Year Plan having just been published, the time to act is now to avoid a crisis in our health system that is entirely preventable.’
DR KATIE KNIGHT
A paediatric emergency medicine consultant, based in Haringey, north London
North Middlesex University Hospital in Edmonton saw 14,587 children admitted to A&E or to a hospital ward, while Hillingdon Hospital saw 10,417 children admitted to A&E or to a hospital ward.
University Hospital Lewisham saw 8,218 children admitted to A&E or to a hospital ward and Barnet Hospital saw 7,523 children admitted to A&E or to a hospital ward.
Guys’ and St Thomas’ Hospital, which covers Lambeth and Southwark, saw 7,505 children admitted to A&E or to a hospital ward.
‘These figures are heartbreaking and should finally shame our political leaders into action. Children in London are suffering because of avoidable pollution – too many polluting diesel cars and unnecessary domestic wood burning are making our children sick, choke, cough and struggle for their breath, putting them into hospital.
‘Across England, children’s health, their family lives, their schooling and their parents’ work lives are compromised because another Government is refusing to clean up our air – children are paying with their lungs and it’s costing our economy £500M a week too.’
JEMIMA HARTSHORN
Founder and director of Mums for Lungs
Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe more rapidly and are closer to the ground, where pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 are more concentrated.
Previous research has shown that exposure to traffic pollution can stunt children’s lung growth by up to 14%.
Road transport remains the biggest source of harmful emissions in London – particularly diesel vehicles and large, heavy SUVs that emit significantly more air pollution and CO₂ than smaller cars.
Largely unnecessary domestic combustion, such as wood burning, is one of the major sources of particle pollution (PM2.5).
Recent research by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, commissioned by ClientEarth, estimated that excess NOx emissions from diesel cars linked to ‘Dieselgate’ will have caused 41,000 new cases of asthma in children between 2009 and 2040.
‘We have had to take our son to A&E many times since was a baby. His breathing becomes so bad, we panic every time he gets a cold. We live near a busy main road – it’s clear the pollution is making him worse. I feel totally let down by politicians that look away instead of protecting our children from toxic air.’
ROSA
Mother of Max (7), Ealing
Mums for Lungs is calling for an enforceable pathway to meet WHO targets on NO₂ and PM2.5, at least as soon as this is happening across the EU, so children in the UK are as well protected as their European neighbours.
The group also wants to see a clear timeline to phase out existing diesel vehicles in London, starting with those implicated in the Dieselgate scandal.
Domestic wood burning should also be phased out where it is not the primary source of heating, and there should be restrictions on large, high-polluting SUVs, especially in densely populated areas like London.
The campaigners are also calling for urgent funding for School Streets to be introduced across the country to protect children from toxic pollution at the school gate.
‘As a parent, I am deeply concerned about the impact of air pollution on my sons’ long-term health and it is troubling to see how many children are being admitted to hospital with respiratory conditions.
‘The ULEZ has shown that policies prioritising public health are effective in reducing harmful pollutants. We now need strong leadership at the local level in Barnet and beyond to further clean up the air and make London a healthier place to live, especially for its youngest residents.’
FRANCES BUCKINGHAM
Mother of 2, Barnet
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