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Around 1.5 million deaths per year worldwide are linked to air pollution caused forest fires and similar fires, the research showed.
The majority of deaths associated with landscape fires between 2000 and 2019, including wildfires, agricultural fires and controlled burns, resulted from air pollution generated by the fires, the researchers found.
Although fires can also kill people directly, most deaths are caused by pollution, which contributes to long-term health problems such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
READ MORE: Australian states are at the highest risk of bushfires this spring
An Australian-led study, published in Lancetfound that over 90 percent of attributable deaths were in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Asia.
It is the largest estimate ever made on the matter.
It found an increasing number of global cardiovascular deaths linked to pollution, with around 450,000 deaths per year attributed to cardiovascular disease and 220,000 deaths to respiratory disease.
The authors said more research was needed – as they also called for action on climate change.
Worst Australian forest fires at that time were 2019 – 2020.
The whole family among the victims of deadly flash floods, landslides
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A series of catastrophic bushfires raged across NSW, destroying an estimated millions of hectares.
The fires claimed more than 2,500 homes and more than 30 lives, including six firefighters.
Billions of animals were also killed.
The The national spring outlook warns of increased wildfire risks.
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