LONDON - Life expectancy among Londoners has fallen sharply as a result of COVID-19, with men living on average 2.5 years less and women 1.6 years less, making the drop worse than any since the Second World War.

Experts described the data, from Public Health England (PHE), as "staggering", the London-based Evening Standard newspaper reported, adding that poorer male Londoners suffered the biggest drop, losing an average 3.3 years.

The statistics come from PHE's Wider Impacts of COVID-19 on Health (WICH) monitoring tool, which details the indirect effects of the pandemic on the population's health and wellbeing.

Analysis by the King's Fund health think-tank saw the biggest falls in life expectancy in London, from 81.3 to 78.8 for men and 85 to 83.4 for women. They said it was worse than any fall since the Second World War, according to the Evening Standard.

The richest London men saw their life expectancy fall from 84.5 to 83 (-1.5 years) and the poorest from 77.9 to 74.6 (-3.3 years), said the newspaper.

Previously London men had the best life expectancy in the county. They have now fallen below the South West, South East and East of England and are on a par with the Midlands.

Across England, male life expectancy fell from 80 to 78.7 (-1.3 years) and women from 83.6 to 82.7 (-0.9 years), said the newspaper.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a serious toll on the economy and people's life in Britain, which has been in the third lockdown since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.