By Sophia Wright, Agnes Ratniece
In 2019, approximately 4000 Londoners died prematurely due to toxic air according Mayor Of London. In 2023, air pollution levels are at their highest and the BBC reports that air pollution causes harm for everyone at all stages of life.
The leading illness that is caused by air pollution each year is asthma. The NHS states that 240,000 people have asthma in London alone.
Paresh Shah, the pharmacist in Hornsey Road Pharmacy, advised “they need to go to a doctor and they’ll give you an inhaler, they have a preventer which you can use regularly which saves you from using the other ones which can be harmful regularly. To also stop smoking is important”.
Paresh explained that after covid there was a rise in people coming in to collect breathing related prescriptions, and agrees that the pollution in the air can significantly affect a persons breathing.
In Islington in particular, the London Air Quality Network reports that pollution levels are moderate to high. Nevertheless, Islington Council have issued an air quality strategy for 2023 which promises to reduce the impact of poor air quality on vulnerable people in particular, raising public awareness on understanding air quality issues and implementing cost effective measures to reduce emissions.
However, do residents of Islington feel as though these changes have been made? Or does Islington Council need to work harder to reduce emissions?
Leslie Brenton, 44 is a scaffolder who lives in Islington. Leslie was cycling on his way to the gym on his day off. He said “I don’t own a car, so the only driving I do is when I’m in the van with my colleague on the way to work. I think Holloway Road in general is heavily polluted. I notice the smell of fumes when I cycle down this road in comparison to when I go down side roads”.
Leslie said that cycling in London was easier, and believes more people should be open to cycling short distances instead of taking the car. “I can notice the difference in air quality when I am out of London compared to in Islington”.
Lisa Rogers is a mother of two in her early thirties. Lisa feels as though Islington Council aren’t doing enough to combat the high levels of air pollution. “I have two young sons, one of which who has mild asthma. I am scared that living in a highly polluted area is going to make it worse for him. I feel for him a lot when we’re walking to school and I can already smell the car fumes. I just think the council haven’t fulfilled their promises because I haven’t seen a change”.
According to the Islington Council website the ways in which you can help to minimise contribution to air pollution is to try and cycle to work, to change to an electric vehicle if possible, to turn off your car engine when stationary and to use click and collect shopping to reduce the amount of emissions produced by delivery drivers.
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