WHO study: Most of the world's children are breathing toxic air

More than 90 percent of the world's children are breathing toxic air, a new report from the World Health Organization says.

"Polluted air is poisoning millions of children and ruining their lives," WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom said. "This is inexcusable — every child should be able to breathe clean air so they can grow and fulfill their potential." The toxins can cause everything from asthma to heart disease to death, and when pregnant women breathe in dirty air, it can lead to premature births and underweight babies.

Air pollution harms kids the most because typically, pollutants are more concentrated the closer they are to ground level, The Guardian reports. Pollution is hurting children both inside and outside, and WHO says there needs to be a switch to cleaner cooking and heating fuels. With fewer people smoking, air pollution is now causing more deaths every year than tobacco, with Adhanom saying that "just breathing is killing seven million people a year." Read more about the pollutants and what can be done to help children breathe easier at The Guardian.

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