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LONDON — Outdoor air pollution could cause 6 to 9 million premature deaths and represent an economic cost of around US$2.6 trillion a year by 2060 unless action is taken, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report released on Thursday.

The OECD examined the economic consequences of air pollution and found that it could cost 1 per cent of gross domestic product – or US$2.6 trillion a year – by 2060.

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The economic cost would rise with a surge in related annual healthcare bills to US$176 billion from US$21 billion in 2015 and with lost work days rising to 3.7 billion from 1.2 billion.

A reduction in crop yields as a result of dirty air would also weigh on most countries’ economies, the report said.