“Walking or cycling to school would be much better for children’s health” said prof. Sir David King to the Guardian. Air pollution is often far higher inside than outside vehicles and this is a risk for children’s health. “Children sitting in the backseat of vehicles are likely to be exposed to dangerous levels [of toxic air]”, said King. “You may be driving a cleaner vehicle but your children are sitting in a box collecting toxic gases from all the vehicles around you”.
The polluted air “is nine to 12 times higher inside the car than outside,” Sir King said. “Children are in the back of the car and often the car has the fans on, just sucking the fresh exhaust coming out of the car or lorry in front of them straight into the back of the car”. Children are more vulnerable than adults and toxic air can lead to asthma and other respiratory conditions. Moreover, a study led in Barcelona stated that air pollution reduces the ability of children to concentrate.
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