London Mayoral candidates take note – we need to plant & maintain/ care for urban & suburban trees
A report on Trees and Urban Air Quality released by the Woodland Trust today, and produced in cooperation with Lancaster University and the University of Birmingham, shows that despite air quality in the UK improving in recent decades, there remain serious health issues relating to air pollution, particularly in towns and cities.
Estimates indicate that air pollution reduces life expectancy in the UK by seven to eight months. Air pollution causes irritation of the lungs, can worsen lung conditions, and also affects people with heart conditions. According to the British Lung Foundation one in every seven people in the UK is affected by lung disease — almost 8 million people.
The problem is exacerbated by high summer temperatures, an increasing occurrence as we face greater frequency of extreme weather events. Prolonged high temperature can bring on heart or respiratory failure or dehydration, particularly amongst the elderly, very young or chronically…
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