Report says India tops list of countries in air pollution deaths

India's worsening air pollution is causing about 1.1 million premature deaths each year, almost the highest in the world, according to a new report on global air pollution.

The State of Global Air Report 2017, a joint study by two U.S. nonprofit organizations focusing on health research, also found that 92 percent of the world's population lives in areas with unhealthy air.

The report pointed out that India and China, the two most populous countries, account for most of the ozone-attributable deaths across all years, but India accounts for two-thirds of the global increase since 1990.

"Over the last 25 years, India experienced a nearly 150 percent increase in ozone-attributable deaths, while China's number remained about the same," the report said.

Increasing exposure and a growing and aging population have meant that India now rivals China for among the highest air pollution health burdens in the world, it said.

Globally, the number of deaths attributable to air pollution rose from 3.5 million in 1990 to 4.2 million in 2015, making air pollution the fifth highest cause of death among all health risks, including smoking, diet and high blood pressure, the report said.