A new analysis led by German scientists and published in the journal Cardiovascular Research has found that air pollution reduces global life expectancy by an average of 2.9 years and results in 8.8 million deaths annually. The reduction in life expectancy from inhaling polluted air is greater than malaria, HIV, war and tobacco.
East Asia was the global region with the largest cut to life expectancy due to unclean air, with the average lifespan there cut by 3.9 years. South Asia followed with 3.27 years reduction while Africa's fell by 3.1 years. Out of all countries, people in Chad suffered the greatest reduction in lifespan at 7.28 years while Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic followed with 5.88 and 5.38 years respectively.
