Air pollution 'more deadly than AIDS and traffic accidents'

Air pollution is killing more people a day than AIDS and motoring accidents in Sao Paolo, Brazil, a report has claimed.

Diseases brought about by polluted air claim nine lives on a daily basis, according to a study by Sao Paolo University's Air Pollution Lab, xinhuanet.com reported.

This equates to 3,500 deaths annually, while the combined death rate for AIDS and traffic accidents stood at a lower 1,624 deaths last year, it also states.

The city's vehicle count of six million, of which ten per cent use diesel fuel, is held largely responsible for the pollution.

A total of 62 per cent of pollutants entering the air are due to traffic, the report revealed.

According to a professor from the lab, around 150 lives annually could be saved by reducing sulphur levels released by diesel vehicles.

Sao Paolo has a population of over ten million and is the third largest city in South America.