CHAPEL HILL, N.C., July 12 (UPI) — More than 2 million people die worldwide each year as a direct result of human-caused outdoor air pollution, U.S. researchers say.
Study co-author Jason West of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said some suggest a changing climate might exacerbate the effects of air pollution and increase death rates, but the study showed this has a minimal effect.
“Our estimates make outdoor air pollution among the most important environmental risk factors for health,” West said in a statement. “Many of these deaths are estimated to occur in East Asia and South Asia, where population is high and air pollution is severe.”