Air pollution is a topic that has changed the entire world for some time now. With the degrading air quality, many other aspects are affected by global warming and the melting of glaciers or climate change, or different diseases. It’s been happening for years now and is a clear signal that things need controlling if humans want to survive on this planet. But let’s dig a bit deeper into how it all started, what air pollution means, and what causes air pollution incidentally.
How did it all start?
Air pollution dates back to the 18th century when coal combustion started to provide energy in factories and other areas. The advent of the Industrial Revolution also amplified pollution, even causing the first-ever acid rain in the 1850s. Different pollutants like soot and other harmful gases even caused smog in London and Pennsylvania, including the Great Smog of 1952, which killed around 4000 people.
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What is air pollution?
As we’ve known a bit about how it all started, let’s understand air pollution a bit more. The air pollution definition explains all about the meaning of pollution. Any presence of harmful substances in the air is called air pollution. It can be any particulate matter or any toxic gases that can cause different respiratory problems, lead to global warming, deplete the ozone layer, or affect different architectures.
Air pollution facts
You must know the details of air pollution to be completely aware of the same. Here are all the facts you’re going to require-
- There’re two types of sources; one is the stationary source, which includes factories, and the second one is the mobile source, which comprises cars and various vehicular emissions.
- The disparity in socioeconomic statuses makes people of the low-income group much more vulnerable to air pollution hazards. Therefore, third world countries are facing more such problems at large.
- Different air quality standards set the maximum concentration of air pollutants, the most popular ones being the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards and the E.U. Air Quality Directive.
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- Air pollution reportedly had caused the death of almost 4.2 million people in 2016, and the situation has just worsened in recent times with more glacial meltdown and climate change, and the polluted air.
- Different countries have started implementing additional steps to control pollution levels. For instance, China is trying to partially close some coal plants to check pollution levels, whereas California sets some high standards and is trying to spread awareness.
So, what do you need to remember?
Air pollution has been there for more than a century. If we still ignore the fact and don’t understand what causes air pollution, we and our future generation have to pay a heavy price. Several governments are putting their best efforts, and thus we should all adhere to the rules and regulations. As Gandhi had rightly said, “Be the Change you want to see.”
