I’VE lived in Bradford all my life. I am so fond of the city, but there’s an invisible threat on our doorstep that’s a constant concern for my family and on a bad day, it can leave us coughing, wheezing and fighting for breath.
As someone who has asthma, exposure to toxic air can make my symptoms much worse and even trigger an asthma attack. It’s not just me who’s affected in the family – my two young sons, brother and niece all have the condition.
Every day, millions of families in the UK, including mine, are exposed to toxic air pollution without even realising it.
Wherever you are, there is a very high chance you are breathing in air that breaches the World Health Organization’s recommended limits, posing a significant public health risk.
The number of cars that I see here now, compared to when I was younger, has shot up, and that’s just on our street. Cars are a problem because much of this pollution is coming from vehicle emissions, especially from older diesel engines.
The next generation are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of dirty air. Air pollution can stunt the growth of children’s lungs, cause people to develop lung conditions and leave people like me who have asthma struggling to breathe.
Every child deserves to breathe clean air. As a parent of children with asthma, the fear for my sons’ futures is a constant knot in my stomach. I dread to think what the polluted air is doing to their developing lungs.
Statistics show that south Asians with asthma in the UK tend to have a tougher time than others. We get diagnosed later, end up in the hospital more often, and even have a higher chance of dying from our lung condition. It’s scary, and it shouldn’t be this way Read More…..