As the international bastion of a coal-powered industrial network, China has long been the object of controversy for it’s record breaking amounts of per-capita pollution. A new study done by researchers from U.S, Chinese and Israeli academia have used data spanning multiple decades to conclude that the average life expectation of some 500 million Chinese citizens has dropped nearly 5.5 years since the 90′s as a result of coal burning.

Ambient air quality, however, is impacted globally and researchers estimate that the vast increase of particulare pollution has implications globally. According to calculations, long-term exposure to an increase of 100 micrograms of particulate pollution translates to a 3-year drop in life expectancy, no matter the country or time period.

The researchers in the initiative plan to use the results to aid in global environmental policy-making.

via Discover