An alarming report from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) warns that around 30,000 deaths in the UK in 2025 will be linked to exposure to toxic air.
British doctors are highlighting that there is no „safe level” of air pollutants and are urging the Government to recognize air pollution as a major public health emergency.
According to the report, 99% of the UK population is consistently exposed to polluted air, and this exposure reduces life expectancy by an average of 1.8 years, as reported by Sky News.
The authors of the report emphasize that this effect ranks immediately after cancer and smoking in the list of the main causes of death and disease globally.
"Air pollution can no longer be treated as a simple environmental issue - it is a public health crisis," stated Dr. Mumtaz Patel, President of the RCP. "We are losing tens of thousands of lives annually due to a largely preventable factor, and the economic cost is one that we simply cannot afford anymore."
Annual costs of 27 billion pounds
In addition to the devastating impact on health, air pollution generates massive economic losses - estimated at 27 billion pounds annually, including health costs and productivity losses. RCP emphasizes that investments in clean air are, in fact, investments in the country's economic future.
Professor Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, writes in the report's preface that "air pollution remains the most significant environmental health threat, with effects throughout a person's lifetime."
He acknowledges that significant progress has been made in the past three decades, but warns that without concrete measures in transportation, heating, and industry, there will be no real improvement.
"We would not accept 30,000 preventable deaths from any other cause. We must treat clean air with the same seriousness as we treat clean water or safe food. It is a fundamental human right," concluded Dr. Patel.
A significant Romanian community lives in the UK. According to MEP Rareş Bogdan, the number of Romanians in the UK had exceeded, in 2023, based on data provided by officials in London, the figure of 1.4 million citizens.