Air pollution kills 4,000 people a day in China, representing 17 per cent of all deaths in the country, according to a damning new report into air pollution.

The figures show that China's smog problem, particularly in the east of the country, is even worse than previous estimates.

Breathing air in the country's capital Beijing for just one day is the equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes, claims one of the report's authors.

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Breathing air in the China's capital Beijing for just one day is the equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes. Pictured is the air pollution map for eastern China, with pink areas marking areas where the air is considered unhealthy, and orange showing areas with air that is unhealthy for sensitive groups

Experts have known that air pollution in China has been a problem for a number of years, but estimates for how bad the situation actually is have been unreliable, often relying on satellite data.

To get a better picture of the situation, in 2012 the government set up more than 1,500 air monitoring stations across the country that produce hourly reports.

The newly released data from the reports, analysed by scientists at Berkeley Earth, a non-profit based in the US, makes for grim reading.

The air reporting system takes measurements of pollutants including particulates less than 2.5 microns in diameter, known as PM 2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs causing heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and asthma.

The report shows that 38 per cent of the population is breathing 'unhealthy' air according to United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA) standards.

This number rises to 83 per cent of the population if people with sensitive groups are included, for example those with existing conditions.

The report shows that 38 percent of the population of China is breathing 'unhealthy' air according to United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA) standards (file image)

Since many of the sources of the most dangerous pollutants in Beijing are not local, making the air safe in time for the 2022 Olympics poses a particular challenge.

'Beijing is only a moderate source of PM2.5; it receives much of its pollution from distant industrial areas, particularly Shijiazhuang, 200 miles to the southwest,' said Robert Rohde, coauthor of the paper.

The fact that sources of PM2.5 match those of sulfur implies that most of the pollution comes from coal burning power plants, according to the paper's authors.

INTERACTIVE SMOG MAP REVEALS WORLD'S DIRTIEST POWER PLANTS The world's most polluted cities and countries have been revealed in a staggering map built by data experts. The Midwest and East Coast are among the areas with the highest levels of pollution in the US, as the map confirms air quality is worst in heavily populated urban environments. While China is revealed to have the most power plants that release the highest levels of carbon into the air, producing some of the worst pollution found in its northeastern regions. Regions with dangerous levels of air pollution are shaded black on the map, with dark red representing an unhealthy level. Areas of high population density generally attract some of the worst air quality, with big cities in China and India attracting high levels of pollution. An exception to this rule is Africa, which is relatively less densely populated, but still has high levels of particles in the air due to Saharan mineral dust. Regions with healthy air quality are marked in yellow, with large swathes of Russia and Canada revealed to have some of the cleanest air. China has the highest number of dirty power plants, with a total of 610, followed by the US with 371 and India with 187. Advertisement

'Air pollution is the greatest environmental disaster in the world today,' says Richard Muller, Scientific Director of Berkeley Earth, coauthor of the paper.

'When I was last in Beijing, pollution was at the hazardous level; every hour of exposure reduced my life expectancy by 20 minutes. It's as if every man, women, and child smoked 1.5 cigarettes each hour,' he said.

Previous reports have showed that air pollution in London is responsible for almost 6,000 deaths a year, with a report by King' College London showing that a normal day's exposure to air in the capital is the equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Worldwide, air pollution kills over three million people per year, which is more than AIDS, malaria, diabetes or tuberculosis, according to the report.

Elizabeth Muller, Executive Director of Berkeley Earth, said 'It's troubling that air pollution is killing so many and yet isn't on the radar for major environmental organizations in the US or Europe.'

Solutions to the problem include switching from coal to natural gas and improved energy efficiency said Muller.

'Many of the same solutions that mitigate air pollution will simultaneously reduce China's contribution to global warming. We can save lives today and tomorrow.'