ULEZ LINKED TO IMPROVED LUNG GROWTH IN LONDON CHILDREN

Children's lungs grew larger and stronger after London introduced its ultra-low emission zone, according to a study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London. Examinations of London schoolchildren before and after the Ulez came into force in 2019 found restoration of lung capacity that had previously been reduced by exposure to traffic pollution. The study compared lung development in 1,664 London children aged six to nine with 1,750 children of the same age in Luton, a town with similar traffic pollution patterns but no clean air zone. Measurements taken at annual school visits from 2018 to 2022 showed initial assessments found London children had significantly smaller lungs than their Luton counterparts.

Prior research recorded that by ages eight or nine, children in the most polluted London areas had 5–10% less lung capacity than children elsewhere. Scientists attributed this impairment to exposure to nitrogen dioxide and noted it placed children at increased risk in adulthood of respiratory diseases including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as cardiovascular and metabolic disease. The Ulez restricts the most polluting vehicles from entering London and was introduced by Mayor Sadiq Khan partly on grounds of public health, though the policy initially lacked research evidence of its effects on children's respiratory development.

Chris Griffiths, a professor of primary care at the University of Oxford and Queen Mary University of London, stated the findings provided "the strongest evidence yet on how these harms can be prevented". Griffiths called for other cities with traffic-related air pollution to consider introducing clean-air zones as a priority. The research represents the first major longitudinal study to measure changes in children's lung capacity following the introduction of a low-emission zone policy.