A new study now finds that India accounts for seven of the world's 10 cities with the worst air pollution. On the other hand, Chinese cities have seen a marked improvement.

A new study now finds that India accounts for seven of the world's 10 cities with the worst air pollution. On the other hand, Chinese cities have seen a marked improvement.

According to the study, Gurugram, a suburb of the Indian capital New Delhi, is the world's most polluted city. The study was conducted by Greenpeace and AirVisual, and found Gurugram had an average air quality index of 135.8 in 2018 -- almost three times the level which the US Environmental Protection Agency regards as healthy, reported CNN.

According to the report, air pollution will cause around 7 million premature deaths globally next year and have a major economic impact.

Speaking about it, Yeb Sano, executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia said, “Air pollution steals our livelihoods and our futures," adding, "In addition to human lives lost, there's an estimated global cost of 225 billion dollars in lost labour, and trillions in medical costs. This has enormous impacts, on our health and on our wallets."

(Photo from airvisual.com )