Imagine struggling to breathe and finding out your asthma or COPD had flared up not because of a virus or a forgotten inhaler — but because of the air outside.
That is the reality for thousands of people every year. In 2024, 7,244 hospital appointments in England recorded air pollution as a contributing factor. Ten years ago, that number was just 2,550.
I came across the figures while analysing NHS hospital data for signs that environmental factors were playing a greater role in people’s health. The records include diagnostic codes that sometimes note external influences.
I filtered for respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis and COPD, then searched for code which refers to exposure to air pollution. In thousands of cases, poor air quality had been flagged as something that made the patient’s condition worse.
I spoke to several experts while reporting the story. Chloe Owen, clean air policy manager at Asthma + Lung UK, told me, “At a time when the Government wants to prevent poor health rather than treat sickness, taking decisive action to tackle air pollution is vital.”
Jenny Bates from Friends of the Earth said the damage starts early in life. “Poor air quality can be deadly, with the health impacts affecting some of the most vulnerable in society, including children whose lung development can be seriously impacted.”
Dr Karen Exley from the UK Health Security Agency said, “Despite improvements over previous decades, air pollution remains one of the largest environmental risks to public health in the UK.”
The story ran as an exclusive in the Sunday Express on April 20.
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