If you live in a city, you're probably breathing in dangerously polluted air

More than 80 percent of the urban population in the world lives in a place where the air quality is below the standards set by the World Health Organization, a new report has found. While cities like Beijing, Mexico City, and New Delhi are famous for their poor air, even cities like London, Paris, and Rome made the list of locations where air quality is below healthy standards. Ninety-eight of 100 cities in low- and middle-income countries also fail to meet the expectations of a safe environment.

Air pollution has been linked to premature deaths and ailments including asthma, heart disease, and lung cancer. "When dirty air blankets our cities the most vulnerable urban populations — the youngest, oldest, and poorest — are the most impacted," WHO official Flavia Bustreo said in a press release.

Many of the major pollutants come from burning fossil fuels and among the more dangerous particles are sulfate, nitrates, ammonia, soot, dust, and other chemical compounds, The New York Times reports.

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"In many parts of the world, there is no greater current environmental risk to human well-being than airborne particulate matter, so shining a bright light on that is especially important," air pollution expert and economics professor Michael Greenstone said.

You can explore the database here.