India and China account for more than half of the world's premature deaths due to air pollution, a new report said yesterday
New Delhi: India and China account for more than half of the world's premature deaths due to air pollution, a new report said yesterday.
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Noting that India's lives lost to the tiny particulate matter is “approaching” China's numbers, the ‘State of Global Air 2017’ report said that among the 10 most populous countries and the European Union (EU), Bangladesh and India have the highest exposure to PM2.5, the “steepest” rise since 2010.
“In 2015, long-term exposure to PM2.5 contributed to 4.2 million deaths and to a loss of 103 million years of healthy life. China and India together accounted for 52 per cent of the total global deaths attributable to PM2.5,” it said.
Also, increasing exposure and a growing and aging population have meant that India now rivals China for among the highest air pollution health burdens in the world, with both countries facing some 1.1 million early deaths due to it in 2015.