UPDATED: January 25, 2021 16:47 IST
For air pollution above WHO air quality guideline of 10 µg/m3, exposure may have contributed to 29 per cent of pregnancy losses, the study found (Representational)
Poor air quality has been linked to a considerable proportion of pregnancy loss in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal reveals.
The study found that exposure to PM 2.5 particles that exceeded India s air quality standard of 40 µg/m3 led to an estimated 349,681 pregnancy losses per year in South Asia, which is the most populous region in the world. This accounts for 7 per cent of annual pregnancy loss in the region from 2000-2016.