This NASA Map Tells You Where Air Pollution Is Most Likely to Kill You
An estimated 2.1 million people die each year from air pollution. Want to know where the most polluted (and deadly) places to live are? This NASA-created map will show you.
From NASA's Earth Observatory website:
The map above shows the model estimate of the average number of deaths per 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) per year due to air pollution. The researchers used the difference in pollution levels between 1850 and 2000 as a measure of human-caused air pollution. Dark brown areas have more premature deaths than light brown areas. Blue areas have experienced an improvement in air quality relative to 1850 and a decline in premature deaths.
As you might expect, the deadliest pollution is in China. Europe and India are also bad, as are parts of Mexico, west Africa and the midwestern United States. Somewhat surprisingly, there are parts of the world that actually have less air pollution than they had in 1850, including most of the southeast United States.
