According to the World Health Organization 7 million people die from related symptoms each year. Worldwide, poor air quality is responsible for almost as many deaths as cancer and an order of magnitude more deaths than HIV and malaria combined.
In East Asia and the Pacific alone, the World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 billion people – almost a quarter of the world population is breathing unsafe air each day. Particulate pollution is linked to heart disease, some cancers and early death.