Sadiq Khan today proposed public signs at toxic air blackspots to alert Londoners to the health risks.
The Mayor also said the public should have been better informed on more than 100 occasions since 2014 about dirty air blighting the capital.
He has told Transport for London to urgently develop a better system to tell people when air pollution levels hit “moderate”, “high” or “very high”.
Proposals include roadside signs on the most polluted roads to tell Londoners when the air is “dangerously bad”, and better use of social media to warn of pollution peaks. The Mayor said data from King’s College London showed the “Saharan Dust” episode in April 2014 was one of 49 times when air pollution climbed to “moderate” or higher that year.
As the capital was coated with reddish dust, the London Ambulance Service reported a 14 per cent rise in 999 calls for patients with respiratory issues, he added. There were 48 more episodes of particularly poor air quality last year, according to City Hall, and 22 so far this year. Mr Khan said: “Londoners could have been given better, higher-profile warnings and taken action to limit their exposure.”
Kay Boycott, chief executive of Asthma UK, said: “It is vital that Londoners with asthma know when pollution levels are high so they can take the steps they need to keep themselves safe.”
The Mayor accepts that his predecessor Boris Johnson did issue information about air quality but believes it “did not go far enough”.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson hit back at Mr Khan, saying: “He should stop criticising the former administration and apologise to Londoners for being the transport minister when Labour incentivised the drive to diesel, leading directly to the problems we are now encountering in our city.”
If pollution hits “very high”, adults and children with lung problems, adults with heart problems, and older people, should avoid strenuous physical activity, say health chiefs, and the wider public should reduce physical exertion.
