--- title: Air Pollution Linked to 6.5 Million Deaths a Year Study Says description: Air pollution leads to about 6.5 million deaths each year, with figures expected to drastically rise, the International Energy Agency said. canonical: https://time.com/4383435/air-pollution-deaths-study/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-27T12:44:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:50:12.591Z article:section: Health og:title: Air Pollution Linked to 6.5 Million Deaths a Year, Study Says og:description: With the highest concentration in developing Asia og:url: https://time.com/4383435/air-pollution-deaths-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2690a2385303056c/6988997a524fc00052df8845/air-pollution-study.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: TO GO WITH AFP STORY : TOOLBOX FOR FIXIN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Air Pollution Linked to 6.5 Million Deaths a Year, Study Says twitter:description: With the highest concentration in developing Asia twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2690a2385303056c/6988997a524fc00052df8845/air-pollution-study.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Air Pollution Linked to 6.5 Million Deaths a Year, Study Says > 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. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=91c851ee-ba43-4a35-a768-e40406a20b74&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jun 27, 2016 12:44 PM UTC  This 2006 picture shows cyclists passing through thick pollution from a factory in Yutian, east of Beijing in China's northwest Hebei province. This 2006 picture shows cyclists passing through thick pollution from a factory in Yutian, east of Beijing in China's northwest Hebei province. PETER PARKS—AFP/Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jun 27, 2016 12:44 PM UTC [Air pollution](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/27/business/energy-environment/study-links-6-5-million-deaths-each-year-to-air-pollution.html?%5Fr=1) contributes to about 6.5 million deaths each year, the International Energy Agency warned in a [report](https://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/pressreleases/2016/june/energy-and-air-pollution.html) released Monday, with casualties expected to drastically rise in coming decades unless the energy industry curbs emissions. The agency’s first air pollution study found that premature deaths connected to [outdoor air pollution](http://time.com/4035670/air-pollution-death/) are projected to rise from 3 million in 2016 to 4.5 million by 2040, with the highest concentration in developing Asia. It also suggested that governments and the energy sector could reduce the number of deaths linked to air pollution by implementing clean air policies. “Clean air is a basic human right that most of the world’s population lacks,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement. “No country—rich or poor—can claim that the task of tackling air pollution is complete. But governments are far from powerless to act and need to act now.” “We need to revise our approach to energy development so that communities are not forced to sacrifice clean air in return for economic growth,” Birol added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4383435/air-pollution-deaths-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4383435/air-pollution-deaths-study/"},"headline":"Air Pollution Linked to 6.5 Million Deaths a Year, Study Says","datePublished":"2016-06-27T12:44:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:50:12.591Z","description":"With the highest concentration in Asia","url":"https://time.com/4383435/air-pollution-deaths-study/","keywords":["Public Health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2690a2385303056c/6988997a524fc00052df8845/air-pollution-study.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2690a2385303056c/6988997a524fc00052df8845/air-pollution-study.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TO GO WITH AFP STORY : TOOLBOX FOR FIXIN","caption":"This 2006 picture shows cyclists passing through thick pollution from a factory in Yutian, east of Beijing in China's northwest Hebei province.","creditText":"PETER PARKS—AFP/Getty Images","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/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4383435/air-pollution-deaths-study/","name":"Air Pollution Linked to 6.5 Million Deaths a Year, Study Says"}}]}] ```