Pollution's toll

In 2015, according to the Global Burden of Disease study, over 9 million deaths — 16 per cent of the total — were attributable to pollution, specifically to lack of access to clean water and sanitation, household burning of solid fuels for cooking, outdoor air pollution or exposure to lead. Virtually all deaths due to lack of safe water and sanitation and three-quarters of those due to indoor air pollution occurred in either low or low-middle income countries, as did half the deaths attributable to outdoor air pollution. Upper-middle income countries accounted for just one-quarter of deaths due to indoor and 40 per cent of deaths associated with outdoor air pollution.