Official figures show that Croydon’s air quality is so poor, 106 children aged five years old or younger had to be admitted to Croydon University Hospital with respiratory difficulties in 2023.
Toxic air: parts of Croydon have levels of pollution three times higher than international standards
The details were obtained through a Freedom of Information request to the Croydon Health Services NHS Trust.
Similar FoIs across 21 other London hospitals showed more than 15,000 children were admitted in 2023 with serious breathing difficulties.
The figures were obtained by air pollution campaigners, Mums for Lungs, who have called for the removal of all diesel vehicles by at least 2030.
Across England as a whole, 15,328 children aged 19 or under were admitted into hospital for serious asthma attacks in 2022-2023, according to Public Health England. For London, the figure is 2,705.
Air quality in Croydon is notoriously poor, with high levels of pollution near some of the busiest roads and junctions, all in breach of World Health Organization standards.
Croydon mum Karina Fernandez said, “For far too long already the air in London and beyond has been so polluted it is making children sick. My son and I both have asthma and it is harrowing. No parent should sit in A&E watching anxiously over their child’s breath. We need less cars and wood-burning now.”
Air pollution monitors in Croydon continue to show high levels of some of the most dangerous forms of pollution – including nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM 2.5) – although research by Inside Croydon suggests that Croydon Council is failing to maintain its duties in operating air quality monitors. One such monitor has not functioned since 2020.
Demanding better: pupils at Oasis Ryland in Croydon taking part in a Mums for Lungs protest
Exposure to PM 2.5 can result in serious impacts to health, especially in vulnerable groups of people such as the young and elderly. Due to the small size of many of the particles, some of these toxins may enter the bloodstream and be transported around the body, lodging in the heart, brain and other organs.
Short-term exposure to concentrations of NO2 can cause inflammation of the airways and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections and to allergens. NO2 can exacerbate the symptoms of those already suffering from lung or heart conditions.
Croydon’s air quality monitor in Norbury is measuring NO2 at 28μg/m3, three times over the WHO guidelines.
Dr Anna Moore, a respiratory doctor who works in a London NHS Hospital, said: “These figures demonstrate that there are hundreds of children who are in hospital with conditions that could be prevented. At a time when NHS resources are stretched thin, we need urgently to clean up our air, including completely phasing out the most heavily polluting diesel cars, trucks and vans and focus on infrastructure which enables safe walking and cycling as this is vital for long-term health.”
Pro-pollution: Croydon’s Tory Mayor Jason Perry
In Croydon, the borough’s pro-pollution Mayor, Jason Perry, has been scoring political points by having cycling infrastructure ripped out, making it more dangerous for people to cycle. This came after he spent most part of a year acting as a Facebook page administrator and “expert” for a group opposing the expansion of ULEZ – London’s ultra-low emissions zone.
And the council, together with Merton, Kingston and Sutton, continues to spend tens of millions of pounds per year to fund the operation of the Viridor waste incinerator at Beddington, which continues to regularly operate in breach of its licence, with incidents including pumping clouds of acidic pollution into the skies above south London.
Road transport is the largest contributor to air pollution in London. Data suggests that air pollution contributes to around 4,000 early deaths each year in London.
Mums for Lungs has written to Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer calling for them to discourage people from buying diesel vehicles and to set a target for England to be diesel-free by 2030, with limited exemptions, alongside action on wood-burning and creating more School Streets, which restrict car use at drop off and pick up.
Mums for Lungs’ Jemima Hartshorn said, “Thousands of children are unable to breathe because of preventable air pollution. This must change.
“So many children are being admitted to hospitals with serious cases of asthma, and all the evidence shows that damaging lungs at an early age can cause lifelong health conditions.
“The next national government, mayors and local authorities must all use their powers to phase out diesel vehicles and protect children from painful and debilitating health conditions.”
Read more: Perry’s ULEZ Facebook page is part of Tory ‘vile cesspit’ of racism
Read more: Incinerator goes 7 times over level for acidic hydrogen chloride
Read more: Licensed to print money: incinerator’s five latest breaches
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