The latest headlines in your inbox
More than a quarter of London parks and playgrounds breach air pollution safety limits, a report revealed today.
Victoria Embankment Gardens and Parliament Square are the worst but Green Park, Hyde Park and Regent’s Park also have dangerous concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
Parents said they were “horrified” that areas believed to be the capital’s “green lungs” were being poisoned by pollution, predominantly from vehicle exhausts.
The city-wide study of 4,470 parks, gardens and open spaces by Imperial College London and the University of Leicester, found that breaches of EU and World Health Organisation NO2 limits were potentially putting thousands of children and vulnerable Londoners at risk.
Prolonged exposure to high levels of NO2 can damage lungs and is linked to childhood asthma, reduced lung growth and reduced brain function.
An interactive map enabling Londoners to check average annual emissions in their local park was launched online.
Dr Daniela Fecht, from Imperial’s school of public health, said: “We know already that hundreds of primary schools and nurseries are located within, or very close to, areas that exceed legal safety limits for NO2, potentially putting children’s long-term health at risk, but we may think our green spaces are clean. Our research shows this is often not the case, with a large number of public and private parks in the capital exceeding legal limits for harmful air pollutants.”
The EU safe limit for NO2, in accordance with the World Health Organisation, is an average of 40µg/m3 per year. Victoria Embankment Gardens was 59.8, Parliament Square was 58.3 and Green Park was 49.2.
Pollution outside Buckingham Palace at Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens was measured at 50.8. It was 47.2 at Jubilee Gardens, beside the London Eye, and 45.2 at Potters Fields, beside City Hall.
Five boroughs — the City of London, Westminster, Camden, Kensington and Chelsea and Islington — all breached safe levels. The figures were based on 2016 data, the latest available but prior to the introduction of the ultra low emission zone in central London in April. “Impressive” results are due to be unveiled next month showing how the Ulez has cut NO2 levels.
Lucy Facer, a co-founder of Islington Clean Air Parents, said: “I’m absolutely horrified by the results of the study. As a mother of two, I spend hours every week in the park with my children. Politicians must act urgently so that children don’t have to breathe toxic air while playing outside.”
Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, called for the Ulez to be extended and drivers to be encouraged out of their cars. She said: “Parents will be shocked to discover that in London’s green spaces many children still run the risk of being exposed to health-damaging traffic fumes as they play.”
Dr Laure de Preux, from Imperial College Business School and report co-author, said: “We call London’s green spaces the ‘lungs of the city’, but increasingly we are seeing that these lungs are being poisoned by air pollution and not enough is being done about it.” The study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
New: Daily podcast from the Evening Standard
Listen and subscribe to The Leader on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or your chosen podcast provider. New episodes every weekday from 4pm.
