A study by an international team of scientists has warned that air pollution is killing more than three million people every year worldwide. The study, citing a report of The Associated Press, suggested that air pollution and global warming will continue to pose a major headache for the world.

Jos Lelieveld, atmospheric scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and lead author of the study, said ozone and other toxic particles are the reasons behind deaths due to air pollution. Bad air leads to health issues like stroke and heart attacks, which are responsible for about 75% deaths related to air pollution. The other 25% air pollution-related deaths are due to lung cancer and respiratory diseases, according to Lelieveld.

Almost every country in the world is currently suffering from air pollution, but approximately 75% of worldwide deaths are happening only in Asian countries, the study, published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature, claimed. The death rate from air pollution could double by 2050 if the world continues to pollute the air.

According to Lelieveld, intensive air-quality-control measures are badly needed, especially in East and South Asia, to avoid the growing mortality rate. The study has shown farming’s impact on world’s air pollution. “When fertilizer breaks down, ammonia gas is released into the air and combines with sulfates from power plants and car exhaust. This deadly combination creates soot particles capable of traveling in whatever direction the wind goes”, Lelieveld said.