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A controversial scheme aimed at slashing car pollution in Central London was a boon to children in the area, whose lungs grew faster after the program was launched, researchers found.

Established in 2019, the Ultra Low Emission Zone initially covered around 8 square miles in Central London. To drive in the zone, owners of older, more polluting cars, buses, and trucks would have to pay a daily fee, equal to around $17 for most drivers, with fines for those who skirted the fee. The scheme led to a steep drop of nitrogen dioxide pollution, which is known to impede lung growth.

To study the impact on children, researchers followed more than 3,400 students, between the ages of 6 and 9, at schools in Central London and in the town of Luton, roughly 30 miles away. Between 2018 and 2022, they regularly measured the lung volume of each child.

Before the emissions scheme was introduced, researchers found, children in London had stunted lung growth.…