Air pollution killed about 7 million people in 2012, making it the world’s single biggest environmental health risk, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday. The toll, a doubling of previous estimates, means one in eight of all global deaths in 2012 was linked to polluted air and shows how reducing pollution inside and outside of people’s homes could save millions of lives in future, the United Nations health agency said.
Air pollution deaths are most commonly from heart disease, strokes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is also linked to deaths from lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. ‘The evidence signals the need for concerted action to clean up the air we all breathe,’ said Maria Neira, head of the WHO’s environmental and social public health department. ‘The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart disease and strokes,’ she said.
Air pollution deaths are most commonly from heart disease, strokes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is also linked to deaths from lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. ‘The evidence signals the need for concerted action to clean up the air we all breathe,’ said Maria Neira, head of the WHO’s environmental and social public health department. ‘The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart disease and strokes,’ she said.