Nobody would be surprised to hear that air pollution causes many negative effects on people's health. What might be surprising for many people are the findings of a new research which shows that air pollution causes the deaths of more than 5.5 million people all over the world every year.
The new research also finds air pollution as one of the biggest risk factors for disease in the world, TIME reports. The research -- presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting last Friday -- also suggests that the number of casualties caused by air pollution will continue to increase in the coming years.
"One of the unique things about air pollution is that you can't run, you can't hide from it," said study researcher and University of British Columbia professor Michael Brauer. China and India might be two of the world's fastest growing economies in the world, but more than half of the 5.5 million air pollution deaths happened in those countries. Brazil, Japan and Pakistan are also included in the countries with increased air pollution deaths in recent years.
"China might move in the right direction in terms of air pollution, but it's going to have continue revisiting [policies] just like the U.S. and Europe," Health Effects institute and research sponsor Dan Greenbaum said. China has responded to the growing number of air pollution deaths by implementing several new regulations such as halting the approval of new coal mines for three years and the development of new technology to lessen the smog in their cities.
Air pollution all over the world usually comes from power plants, the increasing number of vehicles on the road and industrial plants and factories. To improve the quality of indoor air, WebMD advises people to use vacuums with HEPA filter, dehumidifiers, avoid smoking at home, test home for radon presence and avoid synthetic fresheners.
