Air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk, accounting for a staggering one-in-eight deaths, according to a new World Health Organization report.
Approximately 7 million premature deaths were tied to air pollution in 2012. The vast majority of air pollution deaths are due to cardiovascular disease, with 80% of outdoor air pollution-caused deaths tied to ischaemic heart disease or stroke.
Low- and middle-income countries in Southeast Asia and Western Pacific Regions had the largest number of death at 5.9 million due to air pollution exposure.
Horrific smog in Beijing has made headlines recently, but then again so has air pollution in Paris, where officials recently banned half of local cars from driving in order to curb air pollution.
Here's a map of the world's worst air pollution (click for interactive version):
SEE ALSO: This Chinese City Has Been Devastated By Pollution
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