Pollution kills nine million each year - the equivalent to one in six deaths, damning report finds (so, how many people does it kill in your country?)

  • Air pollution was the biggest killer, accounting for 6.5 million deaths on its own
  • The worrying findings were published in the prestigious journal The Lancet
  • The majority of the deaths were put down to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer 
  • 'Pollution is much more than an environmental challenge,' researchers claimed 

Air pollution, water contamination and exposure to man-made chemicals claimed nine millions live last year, a major study concludes.

Researchers discovered at least one in six deaths across the world were caused by the three forms of deadly pollution.

The biggest killer was air pollution, which accounted for 6.5 million deaths on its own, a report published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet found.

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City put the majority of the deaths down to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). 

Scroll down to find out how many people air pollution kills in your country 

Researchers found at least one in six deaths across the world were caused by air pollution, water contamination and exposure to man-made chemicals

Researchers found at least one in six deaths across the world were caused by air pollution, water contamination and exposure to man-made chemicals

Professor Philip Landrigan, co-author of the study, said: 'Pollution is much more than an environmental challenge.

'It is a profound and pervasive threat that affects many aspects of human health and well-being.'

He added: 'It deserves the full attention of international leaders, civil society, health professionals, and people around the world.

'Despite its far-reaching effects on health, the economy and the environment, pollution has been neglected in the international assistance and the global health agendas, and some control strategies have been deeply underfunded.

'Our goal is to raise global awareness of the importance of pollution, and mobilise the political will needed to tackle it, by providing the most in-depth estimates of pollution and health available.'

POLLUTION LINKED TO A BAD NIGHT'S SLEEP

Everyone occasionally struggles to get a good night’s sleep - perhaps being kept awake worries about work, or simply struggling to ‘switch off’.

But not many of us will have put our nocturnal worries down to air pollution.

However, a group of researchers in the US believe that the level of exposure with receive to harmful particles in the air we breathe may be linked to keeping us awake at night.

A study, presented at the American Thoracic Society’s annual international conference, measured how long participants spent asleep in bed each night and found that levels of sleep efficiency could be down to the impact of air pollution on the body. 

They found that the more exposure a person had to nitrogen oxide and particles named PM2.5s, the more chance they had of having a bad night’s sleep. 

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Deaths: The breakdown 

In the UK, 8.39 per cent of deaths, or around 50,000, were due to pollution, a higher proportion than in many other European countries.

More than 155,000 people were killed by pollution in the US, but those deaths made up just 5.74 per cent of the country's total.

Worldwide, the biggest impact from pollution was felt in regions undergoing rapid development and industrialization.

In the most severely affected countries, India, Pakistan and China, up to a quarter of all deaths were caused by pollution.

Around 2.5 million people in India were killed by pollution in 2015 - nearly a quarter of all deaths - and 1.8 million in China.

How was the study carried out? 

The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health was a two-year project involving more than 40 international researchers.

They were assessing a snapshot of pollution effects around the world in 2015.

Data from the Global Burden of Disease study, a huge inquiry into the leading causes of death and illness worldwide, was also used.

The biggest cause of pollution death was found to be chemicals in the air, both outside and within households.

After air pollution, the greatest hazard was contamination of water supplies and sanitation, leading to infectious disease. Unsafe water was linked to 1.8 million deaths

After air pollution, the greatest hazard was contamination of water supplies and sanitation, leading to infectious disease. Unsafe water was linked to 1.8 million deaths

Outdoor pollution was chiefly caused by road traffic and industrial emissions, while indoor air pollution resulted from the burning of wood and charcoal.

Unsafe drinking water 

After air pollution, the greatest hazard was contamination of water supplies and sanitation, leading to infectious disease.

Unsafe water was linked to 1.8 million deaths, the researchers reported.

Toxic chemicals and carcinogens in the workplace accounted for 800,000 deaths from conditions such as cancer and lung disease.

Pollution was found to impose a massive economic burden in some parts of the world, equivalent to 1.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product in low-income countries.

Pollution-related disease soaked up an estimated 1.7 percent of healthcare spending in high-income countries such as the UK and 7 percent in middle-income countries.

What do the charities say? 

Karti Sandilya, from the non-profit organisation Pure Earth USA, said: 'Pollution, poverty, poor health, and social injustice are deeply intertwined.

'Pollution and related diseases most often affect the world's poor and powerless, and victims are often the vulnerable and the voiceless.'

Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: 'This report reveals the consequences air pollution can have when left unchecked.

'Air pollution is reaching crisis point worldwide, and the UK is fairing far worse than many countries in Western Europe and the US.' 

HOW MANY DEATHS ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO AIR POLLUTION IN EACH COUNTRY?
COUNTRY % OF DEATHS COUNTRY % OF DEATHS
Afghanistan 18.69 Libya 11.07
Albania13.38 Lithuania 9.51 
Algeria 9.05 Luxembourg 6.63
Andorra 5.93 Macedonia 14.49
Angola 15.72 Madagascar 22.28
Antigua and Barbuda 5.91 Malawi 16.83
Argentina 8.44 Malaysia 8.83
Armenia 12.06 Maldives 9.94
Australia 5.98 Mali 13.95
Austria 6.63 Malta 8.63
Azerbaijan 13.90 Marshall Islands 8.34
Bahrain 9.45 Mauritania 19.12
Bangladesh 26.57 Mauritius 6.53
Barbados 4.96 Mexico 7.57
Belarus 10.52 Moldova 11.87
Belgium 8.59 Mongolia 14.33
Belize 8.62 Montenegro 15.05
Benin 18.69 Morocco 8.66
Bhutan 18.29 Mozambique 13.00
Bolivia 11.49 Myanmar 17.33
Bosnia and Herzegovina 17.43 Namibia 13.24
Botswana 9.26 Nepal 23.75
Brazil 7.49 Netherlands 8.43
Brunei 2.58 New Zealand 4.99
Bulgaria 11.55 Nicaragua 10.91
Burkina Faso 19.04 Niger 24.86
Burundi 20.40 Nigeria 18.67
Cambodia 17.28 North Korea 21.65
Cameroon 16.07 Norway 5.47
Canada 5.31 Oman 9.53
Cape Verde 14.64 Pakistan 21.93
Central African Republic 18.94 Palestine 8.94
Chad 25.55 Panama 7.81
Chile 6.58 Papua New Guinea 17.95
China 19.50 Paraguay 10.79
Colombia 9.05 Peru 12.93
Comoros 19.17 Philippines 16.39
Costa Rica 7.07 Poland 10.28
Croatia 10.38 Portugal 5.88
Cuba 9.38 Qatar 9.04
Cyprus 7.79 Republic of Congo 15.94
Czech Republic 8.47 Republic of Serbia 13.21
Democratic Republic of the Congo 17.98 Romania 11.86
Denmark 6.40 Russia 8.57
Djibouti 15.93 Rwanda 18.07
Dominica 6.60 Saint Lucia 6.52
Dominican Republic 9.41 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6.86
Ecuador 6.49 Samoa 7.75
Egypt 14.69 Sao Tome and Principe 18.68
El Salvador 9.65 Saudi Arabia 12.73
Equatorial Guinea 12.80 Senegal 19.86
Eritrea 23.03 Seychelles 6.15
Estonia 7.22 Sierra Leone 16.19
Ethiopia 19.12 Singapore 9.07
Federated States of Micronesia 8.60 Slovakia 8.95
Fiji 6.34 Slovenia 7.94
Finland 4.43 Solomon Islands 12.96
France 5.70 Somalia 26.49
Gabon 11.00 South Africa 9.16
Gambia 18.90 South Korea 7.17
Georgia 14.92 South Sudan 23.23
Germany 6.61 Spain 5.81
Ghana 15.18 Sri Lanka 14.19
Greece 8.03 Sudan 19.19
Grenada 6.91 Suriname 7.60
Guatemala 13.99 Swaziland 12.24
Guinea 17.48 Sweden 3.88
Guinea-Bissau 20.06 Switzerland 6.36
Guyana 8.01 Syria 7.22
Haiti 18.03 Taiwan 9.02
Honduras 15.85 Tajikistan 19.62
Hungary 9.72 Thailand 11.22
Iceland 5.37 The Bahamas 5.38
India 24.45 Timor-Leste 16.41
Indonesia 13.53 Togo 16.66
Iran 12.47 Tonga 7.07
Iraq 10.50 Trinidad and Tobago 5.31
Ireland 6.26 Tunisia 11.06
Israel 6.36 Turkey 12.48
Italy 8.35 Turkmenistan 12.03
Ivory Coast 15.49 Uganda 15.82
Jamaica 7.73 Ukraine 10.21
Japan 5.91 United Arab Emirates 12.54
Jordan 8.22 United Kingdom 8.39
Kazakhstan 11.12 United Republic of Tanzania 16.99
Kenya 19.26 United States 5.74
Kiribati 7.92 Uruguay 6.75
Kuwait 12.49 Uzbekistan 15.34
Kyrgyzstan 14.68 Vanuatu 13.30
Laos 18.65 Venezuela 8.40
Latvia 9.83 Vietnam 13.61
Lebanon 10.24 Yemen 15.68
Lesotho 12.98 Zambia 16.84
Liberia 17.31 Zimbabwe 13.38

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