September 12, 2016.
Pollution kills millions of people every year. This is the conclusion of a recent study, which shows that this scourge has become more deadly than AIDS and malaria combined.
Pollution causes cardiovascular disease and cancer
The air we breathe is deadlier than it ever was. That’s what a new study suggests, which shows that while the World Health Organization estimates that three million people die prematurely each year due to prolonged exposure to air pollution, this figure could rise to 6.6 million in the coming years.
Chronic exposure to air pollution is a major contributor to the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as cancer. ” The total number of deaths from the AIDS virus and malaria is 2.8 million people per year. That’s half a million less than the number of people dying from air pollution », Explains Jos Lelieveld, professor at the Max Planck Institute in Germany and main author of this study.
Pollution costs the planet more than $ 5 billion each year
Pollution linked to industry and automobile traffic is far from being the primary source of pollution, this study further reveals, which points to the fuels used to support homes and in particular for cooking food. This study, published in the journal Nature, also shows that the highest number of deaths per capita is observed in the Western Pacific region, as well as in Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean.
A recent World Bank report estimates the cost of this pollution and its impact on the life expectancy of populations for the year 2013 at $ 5,110 billion. According to the organization’s forecasts, and if nothing is made to stop this scourge, pollution could kill 6 to 9 million people per year by 2060.
Read also: Air pollution increases the risk of cancer
