Fossil Fuel Air Pollution Linked To 1 In 5 Deaths Worldwide, New Harvard Study Finds

Air pollution from burning fossil fuels caused 1 in 5 deaths worldwide in 2018, killing more than 8 million people, according to Harvard University research published Tuesday.

The finding, based on new models that use atmospheric chemistry, significantly increased the previous estimates for deaths linked to tiny particles of burned carbon that lodge in soft lung tissue and cause respiratory diseases, trigger asthma attacks, and cloud cities with smog.

The most recent prior estimate from the world’s largest and most comprehensive study of global deaths, known as the Global...