the findings she said only chulha pollution related health risk has declined due to improved access to clean energy but the biggest shocker this time is the global evidence that air pollution accounts for 20 of newborn deaths worldwide due to complications of low birth weight and preterm birth and mothers toxic exposurethis report comes as covid19 a disease for which people with heart and lung disease are particularly at risk of infection and death has claimed more than 110000 lives in india although the full links between air pollution and covid19 are not yet known there is clear evidence linking air pollution and increased heart and lung disease it has led to a growing concern that exposures to high levels of air pollution during winter months in south asian countries and east asia could exacerbate the effects of covid19the interaction of covid19 with the continued global rise in chronic illness and related risk factors including obesity high blood sugar and outdoor air pollution over the past 30 years has created a perfect storm fuelling covid19 deaths said christopher murray director of the institute for health metrics and evaluation ihme at university of washington seattle usathis reports findings are based on the most recent global burden of disease gbd study published in the international medical journal the lancet