Air pollution contributed to 8.1 million deaths worldwide in 2021, with India and China recording 2.1 million and 2.3 million fatalities, respectively, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Published by the Health Effects Institute (HEI), an independent US-based research organisation, in partnership with UNICEF, the report stated that air pollution contributed to the deaths of 1,69,400 children in India under the age of five in 2021.