Children are strongly affected by air pollution because their lungs are still developing, they breathe more deeply, and due to their size they are often closer to exhausts that emit pollution than adults. Air pollution can exacerbate and cause wheezing and asthma, cancer, and long-term exposure can result in worsening cases of lung or cardiac disease amongst many other illnesses. And if that wasn’t bad enough, a new study from the University of Washington points to evidence that air pollution also negatively impacts behaviour and cognition.
Worse still, the school run itself accounts for 30 per cent of rush-hour traffic. So in effect, nearly one-third of the pollution children are exposed to on their way to and at school is caused by getting them there.
