GENEVA • Toxic levels of air pollution lead to the early death of an estimated seven million people annually, according to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report published yesterday.

Nine out of 10 people around the world are exposed to dangerously high levels of pollutants that can lead to cancer and cardiovascular diseases, according to the study which drew off the most recent 2016 data.

Air pollution levels were the highest in the East Mediterranean region and South-east Asia, where in some areas airborne toxins were five times the WHO limits and disproportionately affected the poor and most vulnerable.

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