6, 000 people in Germany die each year due to inhalation of diesel-linked nitrogen oxides (Nox)
Toxic particles containing nitrogen oxides (NOx), linked to diesel, are causing some 6, 000 early deaths in Germany, the Federal Environmental Agency said recently.
The figure is most likely to threaten the automobile business which have poured in billions.
NOx also causes one million people to fall ill each year and that levels of the toxic particle are higher in 70 cities than the limit set under air quality standards.
The car industry has relied on diesel as a stopgap technology to boost efficiency, meet CO2 emissions goals and buy time for a shift toward electric mobility.
But sales of diesel cars have been falling since Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to cheating on emissions tests. Subsequent studies have exposed the true levels of NOx, which is emitted more abundantly by diesel vehicles than petrol engines.
A German court ruled last month that German cities can ban the most heavily polluting diesel cars from their streets, a decision that could accelerate the demise of the combustion engine.
(HCA)
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