9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air: WHO

GENEVA. KAZINFORM Though more countries are taking action, still nine out of ten people worldwide are breathing air containing high levels of pollutants, with an estimated death toll of seven million every year caused by outdoor and household air pollution, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.

In WHO's latest estimates, around seven million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in polluted air. These particles are capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and cardiovascular system, causing diseases including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and respiratory infections, including pneumonia, the WHO says, Xinhua reports.

In 2016 alone, outdoor, or ambient, air pollution caused some 4.2 million deaths, while household air pollution from cooking with polluting fuels and technologies caused an estimated 3.8 million deaths in the same period.

More than 90 percent of air pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, mainly in Asia and Africa, followed by low- and middle-income countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region, Europe and the Americas.

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