Sadiq Khan to publish book on climate crisis and asthma diagnosis

Khan was diagnosed with asthma eight years ago

Sadiq Khan says air quality is a priority (PA Wire)

London mayor Sadiq Khan has written his first book about the climate crisis and his diagnosis of asthma.

The 51-year-old’s debut, Breathe, is billed as a “seven-step guide to winning support for tough climate action”.

Mr Khan, who was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 43, said: “Climate change is the biggest threat facing our world, and since being elected mayor I’ve made it a mission to clean up London’s killer air pollution and reduce our carbon emissions so we can build a better, greener city for everyone.

“This summer has shown climate change isn’t a faraway problem. London saw record temperatures, an official drought declared and wildfires raging across the city. I hope this book spurs more people on to the urgent action we need to fight climate change."

In March it was reported that toxic air in London caused more than 1,700 hospitalisations for asthma or serious lung conditions in just three years, according to new research.

Over a third of these were children admitted for asthma, scientists from Imperial College London found.

The UK government describes poor air quality as the “largest environmental risk to public health” in the country.

Publisher Hutchinson Heinemann’s synopsis of Breathe reads: “For many years, Sadiq wasn’t fully aware of the dangers posed by air pollution, nor its connection with climate change. Then, at the age of 43, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with adult-onset asthma – brought on by the polluted London air he had been breathing for decades.

“Scandalised, Sadiq underwent a political transformation that would see him become one of the most prominent global politicians fighting (and winning) elections on green issues.

“Since becoming mayor of London in 2016, he has declared a climate emergency, introduced the world’s first Ultra-Low Emission Zone, built hundreds of kilometres of new cycle lanes, led a drive for affordable insulation in council homes, and turned London into the first ever ‘National Park City’.