--- title: Pollution in China Causes 1.6 Million Deaths a Year, Study Says description: Air pollution in China is responsible for the deaths of about 1.6 million people every year, or about 4,400 per day, the study says canonical: https://time.com/3997626/china-pollution-study/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-14T01:15:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:09.532Z article:section: Science og:title: Pollution in China Causes 1.6M Deaths a Year, Study Says og:description: That's about 4,400 per day og:url: https://time.com/3997626/china-pollution-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt618e0d9bb0f6412c/69885f3f428a9e2c22ccea44/china-pollution.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3600 og:image:height: 2025 og:image:alt: china pollution og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pollution in China Causes 1.6M Deaths a Year, Study Says twitter:description: That's about 4,400 per day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt618e0d9bb0f6412c/69885f3f428a9e2c22ccea44/china-pollution.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Study Finds Pollution in China Causes 1.6 Million Deaths a Year > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Know Right Now: 50 Dead in China Explosion [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: 50 Dead in China Explosion](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1t0754me.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2015-08-13. Know Right Now: 50 Dead in China Explosion_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Aug 14, 2015 1:15 AM UTC  A woman holds a child as travelers wait for the highway from Beijing to China's Hebei Province to reopen after it was closed due to low visibility, on a heavily polluted morning on Aug. 3, 2015. A woman holds a child as travelers wait for the highway from Beijing to China's Hebei Province to reopen after it was closed due to low visibility, on a heavily polluted morning on Aug. 3, 2015.Damir Sagolj—Reuters by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Aug 14, 2015 1:15 AM UTC Air pollution in China is responsible for the deaths of about 1.6 million people every year, or about 4,400 per day, according to a new study. Researchers from [Berkeley Earth](http://berkeleyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/China-Air-Quality-Paper-July-2015.pdf), a non-profit climate research organization, published an online study Thursday that finds that pollution causes about 17% of deaths in China. Researchers came to their conclusions after analyzing four months of data taken at 1,500 locations across China, South Korea, and Taiwan. The most deadly pollutant, according to the study which is set to be published in the peer reviewed journal PLOS One, comes in the form of tiny particles derived from places like electric power plants and fossil fuels used in homes and factories for heating. These particles can enter the lungs and bloodstream and cause illnesses ranging from asthma to heart disease. According to the study, “92% of the population of China experienced \[more than\] 120 hours of unhealthy air” over the four month period as defined by the American Environmental Protection Agency “and 38% experienced average concentrations that were unhealthy.” The study follows others that have determined between 1.2 and 2 million people die due to pollution in China every year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3997626/china-pollution-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3997626/china-pollution-study/"},"headline":"Study Finds Pollution in China Causes 1.6 Million Deaths a Year","datePublished":"2015-08-14T01:15:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:58:09.532Z","description":"That's about 4,400 people per day","url":"https://time.com/3997626/china-pollution-study/","keywords":["Environment","climate change","China","Pollution"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt618e0d9bb0f6412c/69885f3f428a9e2c22ccea44/china-pollution.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt618e0d9bb0f6412c/69885f3f428a9e2c22ccea44/china-pollution.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"china pollution","caption":"china pollution","creditText":"Damir Sagolj—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3997626/china-pollution-study/","name":"Study Finds Pollution in China Causes 1.6 Million Deaths a Year"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: 50 Dead in China Explosion","description":"Know Right Now: 50 Dead in China Explosion","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/1t0754me/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-13T12:55:54.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1t0754me.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3997626/china-pollution-study/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3997626/china-pollution-study/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```