ULEZ linked to faster lung growth in London children, study finds
Researchers say air quality improvements after 2019 are strongly associated with accelerated lung development in children aged 6-9
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
ULEZ linked to faster lung growth in London children, study finds
Photograph: News Medical (embedded from source)
What this story says
- A study of 3,400 children aged 6-9 found lung growth in London accelerated after the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was introduced in 2019.
- London children’s exposure to nitrogen dioxide fell twice as fast and more than twice as much as in Luton, which has no clean air zone.
- Children in London saw their forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) increase by 10ml per year more than children in Luton over the same period.
- The proportion of children with clinically impaired lung function fell from 14% to 9% in London, compared with a drop from 9% to 7% in Luton.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
85/100
Craft
90/100
Hype
15/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
A study led by Queen Mary University of London found that lung growth in children improved after London introduced its Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in 2019. The research, published in *The Lancet Public Health*, tracked more than 3,400 children aged 6-9 in London and Luton from 2018 to 2022. Luton, which has similar traffic pollutants but no clean air zone, served as a comparison site.
Before ULEZ was introduced, children in London had significantly smaller lungs than those in Luton. After five years, lung function in London children had caught up to that of their Luton peers. The study measured forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), a key indicator of lung health. London children’s FEV1 increased by 10ml per year more than children in Luton, a change the researchers linked to reductions in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure.
Exposure to NO2 in London fell twice as fast and more than twice as much as in Luton over the same period. The proportion of children with clinically impaired lung function dropped from 14% to 9% in London, compared with a fall from 9% to 7% in Luton. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and involved researchers from Imperial College London, the Universities of Bedfordshire, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Southern California.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet ran this story at all. None of the reports mentioned the cost of implementing or enforcing ULEZ, or the economic impact on drivers or businesses. The study’s authors did not release an estimate of the scheme’s financial benefits or savings from improved health outcomes.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 19 Aug 2026, 04:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Jemima Hartshorn wanted to make London’s air cleaner for her children (Picture: @CrispinHughes)
Metro News — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
3 rated outlets
- The two left-rated reports led on the personal impact of the findings. *Metro News* ran the headline “Mum's 'massive relief' after major study links Ulez to healthier kids' lungs” and quoted Jemima Hartshorn, founder of the campaign group Mums for Lungs. Hartshorn said the results were “super exciting” and showed that “damage inflicted by air pollution can be compensated by cleaner air.” The report also quoted London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who called the findings “compelling evidence” that ULEZ was “a huge success.”
- *Metro News* included criticism of ULEZ, noting that the scheme had faced “huge backlash from some drivers” who argued it negatively impacted low-income households and small businesses. The report quoted Khan’s response: he had “refused to stand by” despite opposition from “a vocal minority backed by vested interests.”
- *The Independent*’s digest mentioned the mother of Ella Kissi-Debrah, a child whose death was linked to air pollution, and reported that she had called for more clean air zones like ULEZ across the UK. The digest did not include further detail on her comments.
Centre
4 rated outlets
- The four centre-rated reports led on the study’s findings and the scale of the research. *News Medical* published the full study details, including the 10ml per year increase in FEV1 and the drop in NO2 exposure. It quoted Professor Chris Griffiths, who said the findings provided “the strongest evidence yet on how these harms can be prevented” and called for “ambitious clean air zones” to be considered a priority globally.
- *News Medical* also quoted Dr Helen Wood, the lead author, who said the results were “a really important finding for children and parents living in London” but warned that air pollution in both cities remained above World Health Organization guideline levels. The report included the full list of collaborating institutions and the funding source.
- The digests from *Bloomberg*, *Evening Standard* and *Sky News UK* all carried the core findings: that lung growth in London children improved after ULEZ was introduced. *Sky News UK*’s digest noted that Sadiq Khan had said the study proved he was “right to push forward with the scheme and its controversial extension.” None of the centre-rated digests mentioned criticism of ULEZ or the personal stories carried by the left-rated reports.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
3- UK needs more clean air zones like Ulez, says mother of girl killed by air pollution (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- UK needs more clean air zones like Ulez, says mother of girl killed by air pollution (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mum's 'massive relief' after major study links Ulez to healthier kids' lungs (opens Metro News in a new tab)
Metro News — is Metro News biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
4- London's Ultra Low Emission Zone delivers measurable lung health benefits for children (opens News Medical in a new tab)
News Medical — is News Medical biased? Our profile of this outlet
- London Crackdown on Emissions Coincides With Better Child Health (opens Bloomberg in a new tab)
- Ulez linked to improved lung growth in children, major study finds (opens Evening Standard in a new tab)
Evening Standard — is Evening Standard biased? Our profile of this outlet
- London's ULEZ linked to improved lung growth in children, says study (opens Sky News UK in a new tab)
Sky News UK — is Sky News UK biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover ULEZ linked to faster lung growth in London children, study finds?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 43% are rated left, 57% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 8. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is ULEZ linked to faster lung growth in London children, study finds left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of ULEZ linked to faster lung growth in London children, study finds biased?
- ULEZ linked to faster lung growth in London children, study finds is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting ULEZ linked to faster lung growth in London children, study finds?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered ULEZ linked to faster lung growth in London children, study finds?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did the study find about children’s lung growth in London?
- The study found that children in London saw their lung function improve after the Ultra Low Emission Zone was introduced in 2019. Their forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) increased by 10ml per year more than children in Luton, where there is no clean air zone. This change was linked to reductions in nitrogen dioxide exposure.
- How much did nitrogen dioxide exposure fall in London compared to Luton?
- Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in London fell twice as fast and more than twice as much as in Luton over the same period. The study attributed this reduction to the introduction of ULEZ in 2019, which restricts high-polluting vehicles in the city.
- Which outlets reported on the study, and what did they focus on?
- Left-rated outlets like *Metro News* and *The Independent* focused on personal stories and political reactions, quoting campaigners and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Centre-rated outlets, including *News Medical* and *Bloomberg*, led on the study’s findings and the scale of the research. No right-rated outlet covered the story.
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