NASA map highlights world's worst air pollution offenders

The worst offending areas of air pollution throughout the world have been highlighted by a new study. It has been found that India is one of the most polluted countries on the earth as a new map showing the density of air pollution has been released. The map is part of a study that was jointly performed by the US space agency NASA and Jason West from the University of North Carolina.

It was found that larger cities throughout India, China, Europe and Indonesia are some of the worst in the world in terms of polluting emissions. The newly released map shows the density of air pollution throughout the world, identified through brown patches. In order to reduce the air pollution in the highlighted areas, tougher moves need to be made, which could also result in the slowing down of climate change.

According to Mr West, working to reduce carbon emissions would not only be beneficial to the fight against climate change, but could also reduce the impact on human health. Thousands of premature deaths each year are linked to air pollution, with numbers set to rise, according to recent studies, as the levels of air pollution increase.

Mr West highlighted the fact that by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, more damaging forms of air pollution will also decrease. Fine particulate pollution is generally identified as being the worst form of air pollution when it comes to human health. Pollutant matter that measures at or less than 2.5 micrometres can be absorbed deeper into the lungs and blood, which has been strongly linked to lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and other health issues.

The new study and accompanying pollution map indicates that the worst polluting areas could be experiencing some 1,000 premature deaths a year per every square kilometre of space. The dark brown areas on the map indicate a higher density of premature deaths each year, while the small areas that display blue colouring have shown a reduction in premature deaths and an increase in air quality.