UK Air Pollution Set to Cause 30,000 Deaths

Air pollution is considered the most significant environmental threat to public health in the UK, with experts warning it will be linked to about 30,000 deaths in 2025. Approximately 99% of the UK population is exposed to toxic air that can damage nearly every organ and reduce life expectancy by 1.8 years, ranking just behind cancer and smoking as causes of death. Even low pollution levels are tied to fetal development problems, cancer, heart disease, stroke, mental illness, and dementia. The economic impact is estimated at up to £27 billion per year in healthcare and lost productivity, potentially rising to £50 billion with broader effects such as dementia. Despite improvements in air quality over the past thirty years, medical leaders and activists stress the need for urgent government action on heating, transport, and industry, calling for clean air to be recognized as a basic human right and a critical public health issue. They urge ambitious national targets and policy changes to prevent thousands of avoidable deaths.