Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from fossil fuel burning, does not directly damage health, but leads to global heating. However, coal and oil burning for power generation, and the burning of fossil fuels in industrial facilities, pollute the air with particulate matter called PM2.5, which has serious health impacts when breathed in. Al Gore, a former US vice-president and co-founder of Climate Trace, said there was a clear link between human health and fossil fuel burning. The particulate air pollution they also create falls downwind into surrounding neighbourhoods and is causing the deaths of 8.7 million people per year,” he said. “The new tool shows in striking detail the direct connection between the climate crisis and the air pollution that is a significant threat to public health,” the organisation said.