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India experienced the worst, 2.5 million people died prematurely because of pollution, followed by China with 1.8 million deaths, according to the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health , a two-year initiative to highlight this issue.
One in six of all deaths in the world is caused by pollution, and the vast majority occurs in developing countries, according to the report in the medical journal The Lancet.
"With globalization, mining and manufacturing has shifted to the poorest countries, where environmental regulations and crackdowns may be lax," said Karti Sandilya, the chief executive officer. one of the authors and advisor of the environmental group Pure Earth.
"People in poor countries – like construction workers in New Delhi – are more exposed to air pollution and less able to protect themselves as they walk, cycle or climb. in polluted workplaces.
In contrast, many people in developed countries go to air-conditioned offices in air-conditioned cars, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an email.
Exposure to high levels of air pollution, especially for many years, can affect human respiratory and inflammatory systems and can lead to heart disease, stroke, and cancer lung.
Billions of people in developing countries cook on open fires with wood or coal, exposing people – mostly women and children – to dangerous fumes.
But nations that industrialize quickly are the most affected and regulation could help protect health as they develop, said the commission, which brings together more than 40 international writers from the United States. health and the environment.
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