Ulez improved London children's lungs, study finds
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- Ulez was introduced in central London in 2019 and expanded citywide in 2023 to become the world's largest clean-air zone, despite opposition from all mainstream political parties including Khan's own.
- Imperial College London research published earlier in 2025 found estimated deaths linked to air pollution in London fell by around 40% between 2019 and 2024.
- Nitrogen dioxide levels at The Aldgate School's playground fell 48%, from exceeding legal limits in 2016 to within limits when remeasured last year.
- A Queen Mary University of London study tracked lung growth in more than 3,400 children across Luton and central London from 2019 to 2024, finding NO2 exposure fell twice as fast in London and that young Londoners' previously stunted lung function caught up with Luton's.
- King's College London research estimated NO2 would have taken nearly two centuries to reach legal limits without action; London achieved compliance 184 years earlier than predicted.
Why it matters: Khan's piece reframes Ulez from a political flashpoint into a measurable children's health win, with the 14%-to-9% drop in clinically impaired lung function giving London's mayor a data-backed retort to the "war on drivers" narrative that united opposition parties against the expansion.
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