Air pollution in China has led to higher rates of asthma, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, and—according to The Lancet—it contributed to 1.1 million premature deaths in 2015 alone. But now researchers think they have found an unanticipated risk from air pollution that can kill instantly: landslides. A new study suggests that acid rain from pollutants from burning coal can slowly but inexorably weaken certain layers of rock underlying mountain slopes to the point of failure.

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