Air pollution caused nearly 1.6 million deaths in India and China in 2015, according to the latest report by leading environmental NGO Greenpeace, which cited overwhelming use of coal in both countries as the main reason.     

"Air pollution due to continued use of fossil fuels, (coal in particular) in both the countries has caused an additional 1.6 million deaths than the projected figure based on the GDP growth rate for the year 2015," Greenpeace said in its report.

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The report made a scathing observation that despite continued economic progress in India and China, air pollution continues to grow in both countries. This observation stands completely in contrast to general assumption that increase in economic growth will help reduce air pollution.

According to another report by the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), the number of deaths recorded due to air pollution in India was about 1.8 million and nearly 1.5 million in neighboring China.

The GBD report also noted that "indoor air pollution death rates" are now falling in both countries and stand far lower than outdoor air pollution death rate.

Similar to the Greenpeace report, GBD also highlighted the danger of being overwhelmingly dependent on coal power station, adding that there are limited controls on their emissions especially in India.

India and China Worst Air Polluters in the World    

Several environmental reports have often described India and China as the worst air pollutants in the world. Both countries also face continuous pressure from international community to reduce the emission of green house gases.

China has dubious reputation of being the world's highest green house gas emitter.  

Both Asian giants apparently took an important step on this front by signing the Paris Climate Agreement in December 2015. India and China were among the 195 countries that signed the historic accord that aims to bring down the global greenhouse gas emission.

Chinese parliament ratified the Paris accord in September, paving way for implementation across the country.            

TagsGreenpeace, China Air Pollution, china, Pollution in China, Greenpeace Environmental Trust