Latest news with #CleanAirDay
BBC News
13 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Leicester pupils paddle to school in clean air initiative
Pupils in Leicester paddled down the river to school as part of an initiative to raise awareness of air Castle Mead Academy (CMA) students arrived at school in a bell boat on Thursday after about 15 minutes on the River Air Day saw several other schools in the city taking part in a range of outdoor Burt, a geography teacher at CMA, said the paddling idea came from seeing busy traffic on the road outside the school and had received "a lot of support from colleagues and families alike". The pupils were instructed by Leicester Outdoor Pursuit Centre and had "a really good time", according to Ms said: "Days like today are really important to raise awareness of the air pollution which is caused by traffic, especially in busy cities like Leicester."We'd love to see some more sustainable infrastructure around our school, such as bollards or pedestrian crossings and things like that."The events were supported by Leicester City Council, as well as charities Sustrans and Living in the city, University of Leicester organised a walk in Victoria Park and the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust had information stands in hospital restaurants offering advice and information to staff and the public on how they can help reduce air pollution.
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Bradford Council teaches children on city's pollution risks
Children in Bradford have been celebrating on Clean Air Day as the council attempts to reduce the risk posed to young people by vehicle emissions. Bradford Council hosted pupils from 13 schools to learn about air quality, the environment and how air pollution affects researchers found that GP visits for lung health in Bradford had reduced by 25% since the city's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was implemented in September council said children growing up in urban areas were particularly at-risk and that pollutants traced to vehicles could lead to respiratory infections, decreased lung function, heart problems, and can worsen symptoms of asthma. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Forbes
a day ago
- Health
- Forbes
Low Concentrations Of Air Pollution Can Still Impact Health, Study Finds
HOBOKEN, NJ - JULY 20: The sun rises on the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in ... More New York City as a man walks through a park on July 20, 2023, in Hoboken, New Jersey. (Photo by) Exposure to air pollution air even at low concentrations can still have significant air impacts, according to a new analysis. The report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) highlights the growing evidence about the health impacts linked to air pollution and calls on the U.K. government to treat it as a serious and preventable health risk. It emphasises that poor ventilation, damp and mould, and emissions from domestic heating, gas cooking and household products all contribute significantly to poor health. The study, which has been published to mark Clean Air Day (19 June), also warns air pollution could contribute towards 30,000 deaths in the U.K. this year and cost the NHS and the economy billions. It urges the U.K. government to recognise air pollution as a public health issue, rather than a solely environmental one and tackle emissions from various sources, including wood burning, agriculture, transport and indoor pollutants. And it also calls for targeted support to protect the most vulnerable and affected communities and a nationwide public health campaign on air pollution. The RCP's special adviser on air quality, Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, from the University of Southampton, said up to 700 diseases have now been linked with air pollution in an interview. Professor Holgate added air pollution itself has changed and there is growing evidence to show how smaller pollution particles can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream. 'Air quality is also interacting with many other factors,' he told me. 'It only very rarely causes a single disease, but can interact with other health issues, like diet, lifestyle, inequalities, and stress to act like a catalyst and force them to accelerate disease processes than in the absence of pollution.' Professor Holgate added air pollution is traditionally regarded as an environmental issue, but now needs to be seen much more as a public health concern. 'We need to get more public health messaging out there, and better champions in local authorities, GP surgeries and hospitals to tell the story about why air pollution is bad for you, and what can be done about it. 'And we have got to integrate air pollution policies with climate change policies, because some of these air pollutants like black carbon, are up to 1,500 times more potent than carbon dioxide at global warming and therefore cleaning up our urban environment will have a big impact towards achieving net zero,' he added. Clean Air Day is a national event organised by the non-profit Global Action Plan. As part of this year's event, more than 100 healthcare professionals will meet today at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) in London and march to Parliament Square to demand action on air pollution. When they arrive, they will deliver a letter to the U.K government, which calls on it to meet World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines. Global Action Plan's director of policy and campaigns, Larissa Lockwood said air pollution levels in urban areas across the country currently exceed the recommended limits set by the WHO, in a statement. This Clean Air Day healthcare workers and organisations have sent a clear message to the U.K. government that it's time to bring our air quality targets in line with the overwhelming medical consensus,' added Lockwood. The charity Asthma + Lung UK has also released the details of a new poll for Clean Air Day, which highlights the impact air pollution can have on people's health. Almost one in five of people with lung conditions surveyed said air pollution had caused an asthma attack or serious flare-up, while more than half said it left them feeling breathless. The poll also found nearly one in six respondents said they avoid leaving home when air pollution levels are high, and one in 10 reported feeling low or depressed because of it. Even among those who believe they're not affected by air pollution, a third of those surveyed were unaware of the risks, suggesting a significant gap in awareness.5 Asthma + Lung UK chief executive Sarah Sleet said the U.K. urgently needs tougher air quality laws, aligned with WHO guidelines, in a statement.
South Wales Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- South Wales Guardian
MPs to reintroduce bill in name of girl, 9, who died in pollution-linked death
Dubbed 'Ella's Law,' the proposed legislation is named after Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who lived 82ft from the busy South Circular Road in Lewisham and suffered the fatal asthma attack in February 2013. She became the first person to have air pollution listed as a cause of death following a landmark inquest in 2020. Sian Berry, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion will present the bill to the House of Commons with a speech on Tuesday July 1, with the aim of making clean air a human right under UK law. If passed, the bill would require the Government to achieve clean air throughout England by January 1 2030, setting out a pathway to bring the country in line with World Health Organisation air pollution guidelines. She has so far been backed by cross-party Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP and Independent MPs but hopes that more will support the bill and it will be picked up by the Government in the next King's Speech. Ella's mother Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah has long campaigned for the Government to introduce stricter air pollution limits since her daughter died. In 2022, a similar version of Ella's law was steered through the House of Lords by Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb. It was later sponsored by Caroline Lucas MP in the Commons until Parliament was dissolved for the 2024 general election. Ms Berry said: 'Deaths like Ella's, and the millions of lives blighted by preventable diseases caused by air pollution, can be a thing of the past if Governments start taking the right action now. 'Rosamund's campaign is gaining momentum and communities across the country are raising air pollution as a key problem in their local area, so it is great to have representatives from all parties joining together to press for a legal right to breathe clean air. 'Finally passing Ella's Law will save lives, as it will make sure we get new targets, and the funding for local areas to achieve them by cutting down on the many causes of toxic pollution, from road traffic to wood burning.' Ms Adoo Kissi-Debrah said: 'I am delighted Sian and the cross-section of MPs are taking forward Ella's Law in parliament. 'Tackling air pollution should not be a partisan issue, it affects us all, in every constituency in the country. 'I believe that everyone has a right to breathe clean air, no matter where they live, the colour of their skin or their socio-economic background. 'We know that air pollution affects most people in this country, but the harshest effects are felt by poorer and marginalised communities. 'I hope this Labour Government will therefore take forward this Bill to protect all children and adults from the devastating effects of breathing toxic air.' The announcement comes as campaigners, health professionals, local authorities and schools across the country will mark Clean Air Day on Thursday. In the UK, toxic air pollution is estimated to cause between 29,000 and 43,000 premature deaths every year, according to The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution. Sarah Sleet, chief executive at Asthma + Lung UK, said: 'These early deaths represent a failure of government to act as current policies and targets do not do enough to protect public health. 'Toxic air has a detrimental impact on the millions of people living with a lung condition in the UK – with four out of five telling us that it makes their breathing difficulties worse. 'We need action now to protect the public's lungs.' Ella's estate, over which Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah acts as administrator, sued the Environment Department (Defra), the Department for Transport and the Department of Health and Social Care for compensation over her 'illness and premature death'. In October last year, three Government departments settled the claim brought by law firm Hodge Jones & Allen for an undisclosed sum, and issued a statement telling Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah 'we are truly sorry for your loss' and that no child should have to suffer as Ella did.
North Wales Chronicle
2 days ago
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
MPs to reintroduce bill in name of girl, 9, who died in pollution-linked death
Dubbed 'Ella's Law,' the proposed legislation is named after Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who lived 82ft from the busy South Circular Road in Lewisham and suffered the fatal asthma attack in February 2013. She became the first person to have air pollution listed as a cause of death following a landmark inquest in 2020. Sian Berry, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion will present the bill to the House of Commons with a speech on Tuesday July 1, with the aim of making clean air a human right under UK law. If passed, the bill would require the Government to achieve clean air throughout England by January 1 2030, setting out a pathway to bring the country in line with World Health Organisation air pollution guidelines. She has so far been backed by cross-party Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP and Independent MPs but hopes that more will support the bill and it will be picked up by the Government in the next King's Speech. Ella's mother Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah has long campaigned for the Government to introduce stricter air pollution limits since her daughter died. In 2022, a similar version of Ella's law was steered through the House of Lords by Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb. It was later sponsored by Caroline Lucas MP in the Commons until Parliament was dissolved for the 2024 general election. Ms Berry said: 'Deaths like Ella's, and the millions of lives blighted by preventable diseases caused by air pollution, can be a thing of the past if Governments start taking the right action now. 'Rosamund's campaign is gaining momentum and communities across the country are raising air pollution as a key problem in their local area, so it is great to have representatives from all parties joining together to press for a legal right to breathe clean air. 'Finally passing Ella's Law will save lives, as it will make sure we get new targets, and the funding for local areas to achieve them by cutting down on the many causes of toxic pollution, from road traffic to wood burning.' Ms Adoo Kissi-Debrah said: 'I am delighted Sian and the cross-section of MPs are taking forward Ella's Law in parliament. 'Tackling air pollution should not be a partisan issue, it affects us all, in every constituency in the country. 'I believe that everyone has a right to breathe clean air, no matter where they live, the colour of their skin or their socio-economic background. 'We know that air pollution affects most people in this country, but the harshest effects are felt by poorer and marginalised communities. 'I hope this Labour Government will therefore take forward this Bill to protect all children and adults from the devastating effects of breathing toxic air.' The announcement comes as campaigners, health professionals, local authorities and schools across the country will mark Clean Air Day on Thursday. In the UK, toxic air pollution is estimated to cause between 29,000 and 43,000 premature deaths every year, according to The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution. Sarah Sleet, chief executive at Asthma + Lung UK, said: 'These early deaths represent a failure of government to act as current policies and targets do not do enough to protect public health. 'Toxic air has a detrimental impact on the millions of people living with a lung condition in the UK – with four out of five telling us that it makes their breathing difficulties worse. 'We need action now to protect the public's lungs.' Ella's estate, over which Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah acts as administrator, sued the Environment Department (Defra), the Department for Transport and the Department of Health and Social Care for compensation over her 'illness and premature death'. In October last year, three Government departments settled the claim brought by law firm Hodge Jones & Allen for an undisclosed sum, and issued a statement telling Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah 'we are truly sorry for your loss' and that no child should have to suffer as Ella did.
