LONDON: According to a new study, air pollution is ending three million lives prematurely each year.
And the frightening revelations led some of Australia’s top medical experts to call for the government to adopt policies and legislation to reduce air pollution.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany found outdoor air pollutants can penetrate deep into the lungs and contribute to serious diseases with long-term health impacts.
The authors of the study, published in the journal Nature, say the main culprits in the air are produced from heating and cooking.
Known as PM2.5 — particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter — scientists estimate this air pollution has led to more than 3.2 million premature deaths globally — and they predict this figure could go as high as 6.6 million by 2050.
Most of these deaths occurred in developing countries where populations were high and air quality was poor from heavy industry.
The study says in China alone pollutants from solid fuel such as coal and biomass used for heating and cooking, local waste disposal and diesel generators account for 40 per cent or 1.36 million deaths.
They also account for between 50 to 70 per cent of deaths in India and other Asian nations.
In some countries, emissions from traffic and power generation were linked to premature deaths, while in the eastern part of US, Europe, Russia and East Asia, farming practices, including chemicals from fertilisers were the largest contributors.
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