Hospital appointments linked to air pollution have more than doubled in just five years, NHS figures show. Poor air quality was believed to be a factor in 6,312 appointments at hospitals in England last year – up from 2,550 in 2014.
Polluted air can aggravate existing respiratory issues such as asthma – but there is also evidence that long-term exposure can lead to heart disease, strokes, lung cancer and respiratory disease.
It comes as a new inquest is due to be opened this year into the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah, who suffered a fatal asthma attack.
She lived near the busy South Circular Road in South London, and had three years of seizures and 27 visits to hospital for breathing problems before her death in 2013.
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