Chidi Samuel with agency reports
According to the World Health Organisation report,nine out of 10 people on the planet breathe polluted air, even outdoors.
Also 92% of people reside in places where air pollution exceeds WHO limits, which ultimately contributes to lung cancer, heart disease, and strokes.
South-east Asia and western Pacific regions account for almost two out of every three such deaths,and the situation is getting worse in poorer countries.
The report also shows that about three million deaths recorded every year are linked to outdoor air pollution.
When “indoor” air pollution – which includes pollutants like wood smoke and cooking fires – is added, air pollution is linked to one in every nine deaths worldwide, the WHO said.
The air quality model used in the data measures the smallest particles, less than 2.5 micrometres across – which can enter the bloodstream and reach the brain.
Country-by-country data showed that Turkmenistan has the highest death rate connected to outdoor air pollution.
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Egypt rounded out the top five.
“Rich countries are getting much better in improving the quality of the air,” Dr Carlos Dora from the WHO told the Associated Press.
“Poorer countries are getting worse. That is the overall trend.”
However, he said, North America is doing better than Europe, mostly because Europe depends more on diesel fuel and farming practices that create ammonia and methane.
China, the country with the sixth-highest death rate linked to air pollution, is relatively wealthy, but is plagued by smog in its cities and polluted air from industrial sources.
