It has long been known that pollution has noxious repercussions on our health, but no study has warned that it might lead to fatal pneumonia until today.

Researchers from Birmingham University studied atmospheric emissions in England for the period 1996-2004 and attributed some 4,000 extra pneumonia deaths each year to engine pollution, which is the same number of people killed during the infamous weeklong London smog of December 1952, George Knox, lead author of the study said, according to AFP.

The study found that, overall, 386,374 people died of pneumonia during the eight years examined, with significant regional variations. Fifty-four thousand of these deaths were accounted for by 35 local authorities, around 15,000 more than would be expected.

Pollution was also linked to higher rates of some cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and rheumatic heart disease.

“High mortality rates were observed in areas with elevated ambient pollution levels. The strongest single effect was an increase in pneumonia deaths. Many ‘pneumonia’ deaths were probably caused by direct chemical injury, as in the 1952 London smog, and thus are better regarded as ‘acute respiratory distress syndrome’ or ‘acute lung injury’,” Knox concluded.

He also added: “Road transport was the chief source of the emissions responsible, although it was not possible to discriminate between the different chemical components.”

The findings of the study appeared in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.