...AND TAKE CARE WHERE YOU WALK

AVOID main roads at rush hour if walking. ‘Or walk along side streets or through a park rather than on main roads,’ says Professor Prashant Kumar, chair in air quality and health at the University of Surrey.

‘Walk on the side of the kerb furthest from traffic and stand back from traffic lights while cars are idling, when levels of pollutants are higher.’

Phone apps to map a less polluted route to work in the capital are now available via London Air ( londonair.org. uk). Some local authorities also produce alerts on pollution levels.

Protect babies in buggies: a review of research by the University of Surrey has shown that babies and young children may be exposed to 60 per cent more pollution than their parents simply because they’re closer to exhaust pipes. Professor Kumar says that parents could consider using pram covers and avoiding pollution hotspots such as traffic lights or crossings at peak travel times. Meanwhile, Professor Frank Kelly, of King’s College London, says he wouldn’t recommend ‘the type of surgical masks you see people wearing in Beijing, for example: if you can breathe through them, then pollutants can get through them’.