LONDON: Nearly 9,500 people are dying in London each year due to long-term exposure to air pollution, more than twice as many as previously thought. The premature deaths are due to two key pollutants, fine particulates known as PM2.5s and the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2), according to study by researchers at King's College.
The study - which was commissioned by the Greater London Authority and Transport for London - is believed to be the first by any city in the world to attempt to quantify how many people are being harmed by NO2. The gas is largely created by diesel cars, trucks and buses, and affects lung capacity and growth.
Previous research had attributed 4, 267 annual premature deaths in London to air pollution in 2008.
Researchers compared air pollution exposures for small areas in England with population characteristics including deprivation and ethnic makeup. The EU Ambient Air Quality Directive set limits of 40 micrograms per cubic metre (g/m3) at monitoring stations for both PM10 and NO2 pollution. Concentration averages across all neighbourhoods in England were within this limit for PM10, but 11% of neighbourhoods in England exceeded the NO2 limit, accounting for an affected population of 5.4 million. In England, the most deprived 20% of neighbourhoods had higher air pollution levels.
