Electric vehicles would be good for your kids' health, says report

Electric vehicles are not only an eco-friendly alternative to petrol and diesel cars, but they are also a great contributor to our better health. A new study has now found that the advantages of switching to EVs can be particularly seen in children, especially those prone to lung-related diseases. In the absence of tailpipe emissions, electric cars and other types of vehicles will help reduce asthma and bronchitis cases in kids.

A report by the American Lung Association has highlighted the benefits of electric vehicles, bolstering their position in the market as a better alternative to ICE-powered vehicles. The researchers conducted their study based on a model, which will see zero-tailpipe emissions in all new vehicles sold by 2035.

It pointed out that there will be 2.7 million fewer asthma attacks and 147,000 fewer bronchitis cases in children in the US. According to the report, electric vehicles will prevent as many as 2.67 million cases of upper respiratory symptoms and 1.87 million cases of lower respiratory symptoms in kids. Not just the diseases, the switch to EVs will reduce infant mortality cases to less than 508 annually.

According to Laura Kate Bender, national assistant vice president for Healthy Air at the American Lung Association, the impact of switching to EVs on kids was important because their bodies develop at a different rate than adults. “Kids are at greater risk of air pollution, their lungs are still growing,” said said.

Accounting for more than one-fourth of global emissions, vehicles running on conventional fuel are the biggest contributors to climate change. Because combustion engine vehicles have such a hugely adverse impact on the environment,  governments around the world have laid out elaborate plans to gradually phase them out and replace them with electric vehicles. The electrical grid required to power these vehicles also does not rely on fossil fuels, which reduces carbon emission and minimises the extraction processes, which impact the air in the surroundings.