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Pollution deaths break even, but causes shift

A new global analysis in the journal the Lancet Planetary Health shows pollution killed 9 million people in 2019.

Even more troubling, that number is virtually unchanged since four years earlier.

Focused efforts and funding have reduced rates of pollution-related deaths linked to extreme poverty, such as indoor air pollution and water pollution.

But surges in deaths from industrial pollution, including dirty air, toxic chemicals and lead, have offset that progress.

Air pollution caused three-quarters of those 9 million deaths, followed by water pollution, lead and toxic occupational hazards.

The authors call for an IPCC-like panel on pollution, as well as increased funding for control efforts, and improved monitoring and data collection. 

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Nicholas Gerbis was a senior field correspondent for KJZZ from 2016 to 2024.