Air pollution affects your children’s health from the first breath they take, as the damage to our health can start when we’re a baby and carry on through into old age. For instance, exposure to air pollution can affect children’s lung development and in areas of high air pollution, it could be setting some children up for health problems throughout their lives.
During the COVID-19 lockdown we experienced cleaner air and saw massive shifts in low pollution behaviours. If we all play our part to keep up the momentum, we could have clean air and healthier futures.
Clean Air Day, on Thursday 8 October, is a day of action to talk about air pollution, find out what you can do to protect your children’s health and start to take some of the simple air pollution busting steps that can help clean up our air.
Everyone is encouraged to pledge an act on air pollution for Clean Air Day. Here are pledges that the children might want to make, but we will need your help to make it happen:
- I pledge to walk or cycle to school / work
- I pledge to use quieter routes
- I pledge to switch off my engine and not to idle the car
- I pledge to avoid using wood burning open fires
- I pledge to avoid burning household and garden waste
- I pledge to learn more about air pollution
We are looking forward to hear the pledges that were made and we hope the children can commit to them in our joint effort to promote clean air.