More than 90 per cent of the global population lives in a place where the air does not meet World Health Organisation safety guidelines, according to a study from the UN agency that warns of a “public health emergency” created by rising pollution levels.
The most detailed research on outdoor pollution in individual countries undertaken by the organisation shows an estimated 3m deaths a year can be linked to dirty air from coal-fired power plants, old cars, factories and other sources.
Millions more are affected by smoke inside homes from stoves or fires fuelled with wood or dung, meaning a total of 6.5m deaths were associated with air pollution in 2012, the agency said.