1.2 million Chinese people die from air pollution

China has 1.2 million deaths due to air pollution in 2010, accounting for 40% of all deaths due to this cause globally.

Shanghai city sinks in the screen of polluted air. (Photo: New York Times)

Statistics are taken from a scientific research report on the leading causes of death in the world.This report was published in a British medical journal last December, based on data from the "Global Disease burden study 2010".This study was carried out by researchers at the University of Washington and some other universities, along with the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the researchers, "environmental pollution by particulate matter" is the fourth leading cause of death in China, after diets, high blood pressure and smoking. cigarette. Air pollution is also ranked seventh in the list of human life threatening factors worldwide, resulting in 3.2 million deaths in 2010.

India, a populous country in cities, is also heavily influenced by air pollution, with 620,000 deaths in 2010.

As estimated in another WHO report, about 1.3 million people worldwide die prematurely due to air pollution caused in 2011. Last month, Paris-based Economic Cooperation and Development Organization , also warned that pollution in major cities could become the leading cause of global death in 2050, above both unsanitary conditions and contaminated water. The organization added that around 3.6 million people die prematurely every year in the world, mainly in China and India.