Rise in motoring air pollution 'caused 2.1million premature deaths in Asia'

A sudden rise in car use in south and east Asia has seen air pollution soar in the regions, causing a significant elevation in premature deaths.

Research published in the Lancet found that 2.1 million people died prematurely due to heightened car use in south and east Asia. 

This boost in motoring in these areas has also made air pollution one of the world's fastest growing cases of death - along with obesity. In fact, the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study found that it ranks for the first time in the world's top ten list of killer diseases.

Construction and industry also cause air pollution, but it is motoring that expresses tiny particles of diesel soot and gasses, causing major illnesses.

It was found that 1.2 million of these premature deaths occurred in east Asia and China, while 712,000 took place in south Asia, with India accounting for many of these.

These figures added to the record 3.2 million people who died in 2010 around the world due to air pollution. This compared to just 800,000 that did in 2000.

David Pettit, director of the southern California air programme with the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), noted that this is "a terribly high number," which has shocked many people. It is thought that the figure rocketed to such an extent because earlier studies were limited to available data on coarse particles in urban areas only.

Anumita Roychowdhury, head of air pollution at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India, commented: "There is hard evidence now to act urgently to reduce the public health risks to all, particularly children, elderly and the poor. No-one can escape toxic air."

The expert explained that toxic effects of air pollution like cancer come to the fore after a long period of latency, meaning that exposure to air pollution needs to be ended now to reduce the burden of the disease.