A growing body of evidence finds pollution may contribute to death.
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New research published today (July 12) in IOP Publishing’s Environmental Research Letters adds to the growing body of evidence showing that human-caused air pollution is directly responsible for an increased number of deaths. According to the study, more than two million people worldwide die each year as a direct result of breathing in the fine particulates spewed into the air by factories, automobiles, and the like.
“Our estimates make outdoor air pollution among the most important health risk factors for health. Many of these deaths are estimated to occur in East Asia and South Asia, where population is high and pollution is severe,” said co-author Jason West of the University of North Carolina in a journal press release. West and his colleagues estimate that roughly 470,000 people die each year because of increases in ozone due to human activity.