Scientific study: a third of the deaths in China linked to pollution

The research took in 74 cities in the areas of Beijing-Tianjin- Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. The most polluted cities in China are in Hebei (Baoding, Shijiazhuang, Handan). For three days smog has reached emergency levels in the country, affecting half a billion people.

 

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Air pollution in China, especially in the industrialized north, affects at least one third of all deaths in the country. Dust particles in the air are a larger threat to health than smoking. This is according to an international scientific study monitoring 74 cities.

In the last three days in China smog has affected about half a billion people, in an area of ​​about one seventh of the country. Hundreds of flights were canceled at airports; the use of private cars prohibited; highways closed, hospitals crowded with people suffering from breathing problems.

The Nanjing University School of Environment has published the results of his studies in the November issue of the international journal Science of the Total Environment.

Scholars have verified it as the cause of death in 74 cities in China in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai-Hangzhou) and in the Pearl River Delta (Shenzhen- Zhuhai). They have noted that from about 3.03 million deaths in 2013, at least 31.8% are linked to pollution from PM 2.5, particulate matter, which is damaging to health.

Baoding, Shijiazhuang and Handan, Hebei, are the cities with the highest air pollution in China. Each have notched up more than 30 thousand deaths linked to smog in 2013.

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