8 year-old's lung cancer is linked to air pollution

An eight-year-old girl has reportedly become China's youngest victim of lung cancer. The girl, whose identity was not released, lived near a busy road in the eastern province of Jiangsu. State media has reported that her doctors have publicly blamed exposure to air pollution for her condition.

Other physicians are also weighing-in on the country's notorious pollution problem. Li Tian, a doctor from the Nanjing Chest Hospital, says cancer rates are rising and patients are getting younger.

A report released this week also indicated that recently-diagnosed cancer patients in China represent about 20 percent of new diagnosis worldwide.

The coming weeks are likely to see more thick smog descending on cities across China as winter approaches and coal-fuelled power stations start to come online.