Landmark ruling links death of UK schoolgirl to pollution

Air pollution contributed to the death of a London schoolgirl, a coroner ruled on Wednesday in a landmark case that could push Britain to get tougher on traffic and clean up city air. 

After a two-week inquest, coroner Philip Barlow said the death in 2013 of Ella Kissi-Debrah, aged 9, was caused by acute respiratory failure, severe asthma and exposure to pollution.

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"I will conclude that Ella died of asthma contributed to by exposure to excessive air pollution," said Barlow from Southwark Coroner's Court in south London.

He said air pollution was a "significant contributory factor" that had exacerbated her asthma, with the principal source of her exposure being traffic emissions.

Under European Union (EU) laws, the annual average concentration level of nitrogen dioxide cannot exceed 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air (ug/m3) - a target Britain has missed for a decade.

It is unclear whether Britain will stick to that limit now it has left the EU, though the government has pledged to include air-quality targets as part of an environment bill.

The coroner said Kissi-Debrah's mother, Rosamund, was not informed of the health risks of air pollution, otherwise she would have taken steps to prevent her daughter's death.

Campaigners and legal experts said the "historic" verdict could push the British government to get tough on air pollution.

The United Nations says air pollution should be viewed as a matter of human rights, causing 7 million premature deaths a year, 600,000 of them children.

Prolonged exposure to pollutants can cause diabetes, lung disease and cancer, and early evidence suggests air pollution may be linked to higher death rates among Covid-19 patients.

About 40,000 deaths in Britain are linked to air pollution, according to a 2016 study by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.