Deaths from fossil fuel air pollution are double what we thought

By Adam Vaughan

Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Air pollution from burning fossil fuels has been linked to 8.7 million premature deaths a year worldwide, more than double the previous estimate. The new figures also suggest there are around three times as many deaths from dirty air in the UK as listed in official figures.

Researchers say the short term and bigger nature of the health impact should add urgency to the ongoing efforts to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, in addition to the need to act because of the longer term …