There is a large body of evidence linking air pollution to premature deaths, says Germany-based Prof. Dr. Jos Lelieveld, who led a team of global scientists and recently published his study on links of seven sources of air pollution with deaths in prestigious journal 'Nature'.

Coming out with what are being referred to as the most detailed estimates on air pollution linked deaths across the world, Lelieveld's study has put India's Delhi and Kolkata among world's top five cities to record maximum number of fatalities in 2010 and, projected them to remain there till 2050. In an email interview with ET, Lielieved explains his study, saying the issue of air pollution should be taken up in the soon to be held Conference of Parties on Climate Change in Paris.

Another argument concerning air pollution in India, often raised by experts, is that Delhi-NCR, or any other city, throws up huge readings of air pollution because they simply have good data recording systems. Would you say that India's non-urban areas could be more polluted?

Satellite data suggest that the air pollution over India is not localised bur rather widespread. This suggests that both urban and rural sources are important. There is a need for extensive air pollution measurements, in combination with computer modelling, to obtain the best possible information in support of policy making.