At a Glance

Air pollution has contributed to 4.2 million premature deaths, according to report, the State of Global Air 2017.China and India were responsible for more than half of the 4.2 million global deaths attributed to air pollution in 2015.

Air pollution is the leading environmental cause of death and 92 percent of the world’s population lives in areas with unhealthy air, according to a new report.

In 2015, and a loss of 103 million healthy years of life, making air pollution the fifth highest cause of death among all health risks, including smoking, diet and high blood pressure, reports the study.

The report, State of Global Air 2017, was released with an accompanying interactive website that was designed and implemented by the Health Effects Institute.

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“ and this new report and website details why that air pollution is a major contributor to early death,” HEI president Dan Greenbaum said in a release on the report. “The trends we report show that we have seen progress in some parts of the world – but serious challenges remain.”

According to the report, together China and India were responsible for more than half of the 4.2 million global deaths attributed to air pollution in 2015. The research also revealed that increasing exposure and a growing and aging population have caused the two countries to rival for having some of the highest air pollution health burdens in the world.

“The Global Burden of Disease leads a growing worldwide consensus – among the WHO, World Bank, International Energy Agency and others – that air pollution poses major global public health challenges,” HEI vice president of HEI and Clean Air Asia chair Bob O’Keefe said in the release. “Nowhere is that risk more evident than in the rapidly growing economies of Asia.”

In 2015, the highest concentrations of combustion-related particles in the air were found in South and Southeast Asia, China and Central and Western Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Though the report paints a pretty grim overall picture, there are parts of the world that have seen improvement.

The U.S. Clean Air Act and actions taken by the European Commission have made much progress in reducing the number of people exposed to polluted air particles since 1990. America has seen a reduction of about 27 percent in average annual population exposures to fine particular matter, according to the study.

However, about 88,000 Americans and 258,000 Europeans still face increased risks of dying early due to levels of polluted particles in the air today.

In the U.K., roughly , according to a 2016 report obtained by CNBC.

Some of the most important contributors to outdoor air pollution are household solid fuel use, coal-burning power plants, transportation and open burning of agricultural and other wastes.

The State of Global Air report and interactive website will be updated each year with pollutants and health risks that meet the criteria for the project.

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