Pollution killing 9 million people a year, Africa hardest hit study

A boy disposes of raw sewage into a stream in the sprawling Kibera slum in Kenya's capital Nairobi. [Reuters]

Worsening outdoor air pollution and toxic lead poisoning have kept global deaths from environmental contamination at an estimated 9 million per year since 2015 – countering modest progress made in tackling pollution elsewhere, a team of scientists reported Tuesday.