By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 03.11.2020 (SciDev.Net): Long-term exposure to air pollution generated by human activity is linked to about 27 per cent of COVID-19 related deaths in East Asia, and 15 per cent mortality in South Asia and worldwide. These deaths could be largely prevented by adopting air quality regulations, says a new study.

Published in Cardiovascular Research on 27 October, the study estimates for each country the proportion of deaths from coronavirus that could be attributed to anthropogenic pollution.

Ninety-one per cent of the world’s population lives in places where air quality exceeds the World Health Organisation guideline limits. Around 2.3 billion people in the Asia Pacific region, which has some of the highest recorded levels of air pollution, are exposed to air pollution levels several times the WHO guideline for safe air.

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