Fossil fuel pollution causes 1 in 5 deaths worldwide

Half of those who died prematurely from climate change occurred in China and India, the rest were uniformly

distributed among Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan and the USA. The results of the study were published in the journalEnvironmental Research.

A toxic cocktail of tiny particles released by burning oil, gas and especially coal is responsible for 20-25% of all deaths. 

“We often discuss the danger of burningfossil fuels in the context of CO₂ and climate change and are oblivious to the potential health impacts, ”said study co-author Joel Schwartz, professor of environmental epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health.

According to him, the opportunity to avoid millionsPremature deaths should provide a powerful additional incentive for policymakers to do whatever it takes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the global transition to green energy.

Earlier research has shown that worldwide air pollution shortens life by more than two years on average.

The situation is worst in Asia, where the averageLife expectancy fell by 4.1 years in China, 3.9 years in India and 3.8 years in Pakistan. In some regions of these countries, life expectancy is cut in half. Compared with other causes of premature death, air pollution kills 19 times more people each year than malaria, nine times more than HIV/AIDS, and three times more than from alcohol.

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