A study published in the journal Environmental Research found that parts of China, India, Europe, and the northeastern United States are experiencing a disproportionately high number of annual deaths - 8.7 million - due to fossil fuel pollution. This research provides the most detailed assessment to date of premature deaths caused by fossil fuel air pollution. In comparison, a 2017 study estimated 4.2 million deaths annually from all outdoor airborne particulate matter. Eloise Marais, an expert in atmospheric chemistry at University College London, and co-author of the study, was surprised by the large impact of air pollution on health. Previous research had difficulty distinguishing pollution from fossil fuels from other sources like wildfires or dust. The team from three British universities and Harvard University aimed to address the issue by utilizing a high-resolution model to identify the specific pollutants present in a particular area. The authors emphasized the importance of transitioning to cleaner energy sources due to the impact of burning fossil fuels on climate change. The study, based on 2018 data, is intended to serve as a catalyst for governments to expedite this shift. Co-author Joel Schwartz, an environmental epidemiologist at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, stated that quantifying the health effects of fossil fuel combustion can effectively communicate the advantages of transitioning to alternative energy sources to policymakers and stakeholders.