Pollution caused 23 percent of deaths in 2012, says WHO

A [World Health Organisation (WHO) report]( >) released on Tuesday links 23% of deaths in 2012 to unhealthy environments.

Air pollution adversely affects children as per the report which stated that 26% of deaths among kids under five was caused by modifiable environment factors.

Nearly 1 in 4 of total global deaths is due to unhealthy environments https://t.co/5XrEaNQoTP #EnvironmentalHealth pic.twitter.com/Ek3HnAWXOB

— WHO (@WHO) March 15, 2016

The report calls on world leaders to coordinate efforts aimed at promoting well established healthy environments in order to save millions of lives around the world.

Experts in the energy, transport, agriculture and industrial sectors have been urged to cooperate with the health sector to address environmental causes of ill health.

The WHO has identified 10 diseases caused by poor environment and suggests that a better management of the environment would save the lives of about 1.7 million children and close to 4.9 million aged persons.

The global health body believes efforts to reduce carbon emissions include developing collective transport, improving the health network, changing consumption modes, less use of chemicals, protection from the sun and the imposing smoking bans

These measures will help improve the safety of the environment according to the report.