Air pollution killed some 7 million people worldwide in 2012 according to new figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO). This makes it the largest single environmental health risk globally.
The WHO says risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought - particularly for heart disease and strokes.
"Few risks have a greater impact on global health today than air pollution; the evidence signals the need for concerted action to clean up the air we all breathe" said Maria Neira, Director of the WHO's Department for Public Health and Environment.
In particular, the new data reveals a stronger link between both indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, as well as between air pollution and cancer.
This is in addition to the role of pollution in the development of respiratory diseases - including acute respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
"Poor women & children pay a heavy price"
The WHO Assistant Director-General for Family, Women and Children's Health Flavia Bustreo said "Cleaning up the air we breathe prevents non-communicable diseases as well as reduces disease risks among women and vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly"
"Poor women and children pay a heavy price from indoor air pollution since they spend more time at home breathing in smoke and soot from leaky coal and wood cook stoves" she added.
The WHO estimates indoor air pollution was linked to 4.3 million deaths in 2012 in households cooking over coal, wood and biomass stoves.
It says the new estimate is explained by better information about pollution exposures among the estimated 2.9 billion people living in homes using wood, coal or dung as their primary cooking fuel.
In the case of outdoor air pollution, the agency estimates there were 3.7 million deaths in 2012 from urban and rural sources worldwide.
The most air pollution-related deaths occurred in south-east Asia and the Western Pacific - with a total of 3.3 million deaths linked to indoor air pollution and some 2.6 million related to outdoor pollution.
