London air quality could cause medical problems at the Olympics

London air quality could cause some medical problems at the Olympics, according to Keith Prowse, respiratory consultant and medical adviser to the British Lung Foundation.

A summer smog could result in some athletes experiencing respiratory problems and requiring medication, Mr Prowse has warned. These problems could result in medical attention being required, with chest pains and shortness of breath caused by a build up of harmful pollutants in the capital.

Olympic runners, cyclists, swimmers and even sailors could be impacted by air pollution in the capital this summer. Performances can be significantly impacted by high levels of pollution in the air, and it could even cause illness among the competing athletes.

London has already experienced summer smog five times this year, and if one occurs during the Games, this could lead to several health concerns for the athletes. They could end up needing medication and experiencing chest pains, sore throats and shortness of breath, Mr Prowse has warned.

He told the Guardian: "If there is a smog incident then athletes, especially in the endurance events, will not achieve their top performance and those who have any tendency to asthma will be badly affected. Athletes are exerting themselves to the maximum, taking in a lot of air. If that air is polluted it will inflame the air passages. It could have a significant effect on endurance events like the marathon, anything over 400-800m, even sailing."

London air pollution is the worst in Europe, and this could be severely exacerbated if there are long periods of hot weather. Pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide react in sunlight to form a low-level ozone smog which can get trapped for several days, often caused by breezes from northern Europe.

A spokeswoman from the Met Office told the Guardian: "The outlook up to the start of the Olympics is for changeable weather. Forecasts for the southern half of the UK favour below average sunshine amounts, with mean daytime temperatures about four times more likely to be below average than above." 

Posted by Claire Manning