For a while, we have known that the linkage between air pollution and the burning of fossil fuels was bad, but not this bad, says a new study in Environment Research. The paper reveals that air pollution linked to fossil fuels is killing twice as many people as previously thought. It concludes that in 2018, pollution linked to the burning of fossil fuels killed nearly nine million people that year. In perspective that’s one in five people who died globally in 2018. The academics looked at small particulates – known as PM2.5s – which are emitted when fossil fuels are burnt in cars or power stations and that are so small they can get stuck deep inside your lungs. PM2.5s are lethal: They have been labelled toxic killers too small for you to see.
— source priceofoil.org | Feb 9, 2021