More than 90% people around the world are breathing bad air, as per a report by the World Health Organization (WHO). Calling for immediate and strict actions, the Tuesday report also disclosed that air pollution is responsible for over six million annual deaths worldwide. The deaths are due to exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution.

Results of WHO report are alarming and make everyone concerned, said Maria Neira from the United Nations agency’s department of public health and environment.

Not just cities, but bad air is also a problem for rural areas of the planet, as per WHO. Results for rural regions are fearsome. Developed nations have scored well than poor countries, said Neira. But when it is about air pollution, almost every region is polluted.

“It is a public health emergency. Fast action to tackle air pollution can't come soon enough”, she said in a statement. Neira also said that every nation has to speed up efforts against air pollution. Steps like reducing number of vehicles on roads, use of clean cooking fuel and improve waste management should be implemented to tackle the problem, she added.

To generate the report released Tuesday, WHO officials collected data from over 3,000 regions around the world. They noted that 9 out of 10 across the globe are living in regions whose air quality levels are beating limit set by the WHO.

The report didn’t disclose nations with worst pollution record, but revealed that regions like the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia were with the highest levels of pollution. For the report, the WHO used data from satellites and ground-based measurements. Methods used to generate the report have provided accurate estimates about pollution around the world, said Neira.