PUBLIC PARKS ARE
THE LUNGS OF LONDON

Nearly 9,500 people die prematurely each year in the British capital, London, from prolonged exposure to polluted air, according to a new study by scientists from King's College London, published the day before (July 14) and quoted by the British Guardian. That'stwice what was officially thought so far.

Premature death is due to two main pollutants - fine dust particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), according to a study conducted by researchers at King's College London.

The study, commissioned by the municipality (Greater London Authority) and Transport for London, is considered to be the first such study in the world conducted for a city, which tries to quantify how many people are affected by the negative effects of NO2. Thistoxic gas comes mainly from diesel cars, trucks and buses and, as an impact on human health, mainly affects the lungs and growth.

Previous studies have shown that there were 4,267 premature deaths in 2008 as a result of PM2.5 pollution, based on levels of pollution with these particles in 2006. Subsequent declines in the amounts of these particles in the air and changes in the calculationmethodology, which excludes natural sources of pollution, also lead to smaller figures: 3537 cases in 2010. However, this decline is offset by the addition of 5879 deaths due to NO2 pollution each year, bringing the total number of premature deaths. Deaths fromthe two pollutants in 2010 reached 9416.

London, Birmingham and Leeds are among the cities in the UK that have exceeded EU limits on safe levels of nitrogen dioxide for five years. This sparked legal action, which led to a Supreme Court ruling this April, according to which the government undertook tocome up with a plan to clean the city's air of toxic gas by the end of the year.