More than nine out of 10 people worldwide live in areas with excessive air pollution, contributing to strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and other problems, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. A similar WHO report released in May that said 98 per cent of residents in large cities of low- and middle-income countries face excessively high air pollution. The country has the highest rate of deaths per capita due to ambient air pollution in a new WHO report. Turkmenistan has the highest rate of deaths per capita due to ambient air pollution in the WHO's classification, followed by Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and China. Tuesday's report focuses on outdoor air pollution, which is estimated to kill about 3 million people per year based on 2012 figures, the most recent available.

Source: CBC News September 27, 2016 13:07 UTC