‘Airborne baby killer’: 64,000 die in womb each year as a result of polluted air in China despite official efforts to tackle problem
- New Peking University study calculates number of fetal deaths caused by fine particle pollution for first time
- China ranks fourth worst in the world after India, Pakistan and Nigeria in terms of number of filthy air-linked stillbirths
Fine particles in China’s polluted air kill up to 64,000 babies in the womb every year, a new study by researchers in the country has found.
The shocking figure comes despite efforts by Beijing to tackle the problem over the past 10 or more years.
An analysis of 137 countries revealed that 40 per cent of stillbirths in Asia, Africa and Latin America in 2015 were caused by exposure to particles smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), which are mostly produced by the burning of fossil fuels.
Of all the countries studied – where 98 per cent of the world’s stillbirths occur – China ranked fourth in terms of the number of PM2.5-related fetal deaths, according to the study which was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Communications on Tuesday.
The researchers from Peking University – led by Xue Tao – were keen to point out that measures taken by the Chinese authorities to tackle air pollution over the past decade had prevented even more such deaths.
“Improved air quality in some of the 137 countries (e.g. China) might underlie the reduction in the global burden of stillbirths. Therefore, meeting the World Health Organisation air quality targets could prevent stillbirths,” they wrote.
