The typical way to open a leader column about air pollution is to call it a ‘silent killer’. I should know, I’ve done it a lot. Except, on reflection, that isn’t quite right or at least it hasn’t been for some time.
We know that prolonged exposure to toxic air – the nitrogen dioxide oxide and particulate matter produced by transport, heating and industry – is directly linked to various diseases. Not only asthma but strokes, heart disease and lung cancer. Indeed, the annual mortality of anthropogenic air pollution in the UK is roughly equivalent to between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths every year. From breathing.
