Worldwide, pollution kills at least nine million people every year and threatens the continuing survival of humans, according to a new landmark study. The report showed that pollution in some form – air, water, soil, chemical or occupational pollution – is responsible for the diseases that kill one in every six people around the world, adding that the true total could be millions higher because the impact of many pollutants is poorly understood. Read: Air pollution linked to poor sperm quality
Perhaps, airborne particulate matter pollution is by far the greatest current environmental risk to health, leading to respiratory and heart disease, strokes and lung cancer. Currently, an estimated 4.5 billion people around the world are exposed to levels of particulate pollution that are at least twice what the World Health Organisation considers safe. Read: Air pollution and heart health – What your blood type says about you.

The researchers have come up with a MAP based on new findings that show – depending on where you live – how many years of life that gritty air is stealing and how much longer you live if countries reduced air pollution to comply with their own national standard or the WHO standard….