Diesel cars and SUVs have been blamed for a rise in pollution across London as new data shows more than 100,000 children have been rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties.
In 2024, 114,000 children were admitted to hospital or taken to A&E with serious breathing problems, according to a Freedom of Information request.
The data from Mums for Lungs highlights the growing impact of air pollution on London and across the UK, with the charity calling for urgent action.
Further research from the Royal College of Physicians estimates that 30,000 people die prematurely in the UK from air pollution every year.
PA/CLEAN CITIES CAMPAIGN
|Campaigners are calling for polluting diesel cars and SUVs to be phased out
The charity highlighted how children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe more rapidly and are closer to the ground.
They are particularly susceptible to nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5, which are released from petrol and diesel vehicles.
Mums for Lungs takes aim at petrol and diesel vehicles, especially heavy SUVs that emit more air pollution and harmful emissions than smaller vehicles.
Recent data by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, commissioned by ClientEarth, found that diesel cars had a catastrophic impact on children.
MUMS FOR LUNGS
|Mums for Lungs outside St Thomas’ Hospital highlight the over 100,000 children hospitalised every year in London with breathing problems
It estimated that excess NOx emissions from diesel cars linked to the Dieselgate scandal will have caused around 41,000 new cases of asthma in children between 2009 and 2040.
One mother, Rosa, from Ealing, said she had to take her son, Max, 7, to the hospital many times in his childhood, adding that more needs to be done to protect vulnerable children.
She said: "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."
Mums for Lungs is calling for restrictions on large, high-polluting SUVs, especially in densely populated areas like London.
It is also urging the Government to provide extra funding for School Streets to be introduced across the country to minimise emissions near schools.
One of the demands that could have the largest impact is a timeline to phase out existing diesel vehicles in London, with those included in the Dieselgate scandal being removed from roads first.
Jemima Hartshorn, founder and director of Mums for Lungs, said: "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.
PA |
Parents have praised the London Ulez for helping to reduce emissions
"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 £500million a week too."
Some concerned parents outlined that London's Ultra Low Emission Zone has contributed to the reduction in harmful pollutants across the capital.
Frances Buckingham, a mother of two, said she was "deeply concerned" about the impact of air pollution on the long-term health of her sons.
She added that the Ulez is evidence that public health is being prioritised, but leadership was needed across the country to continue the positive work being done.