The great smog of London – smog that killed 12000 people
The problem of pollution is one of the most serious problems for society today, which has started questioning the existence of life itself. Although there are many types of pollution but air pollution, which we also know as smog, remains a serious problem in the modern era. You must have seen how dangerous it can be, but did you know that on December 5, 1952, a dreadful smog of London happened in which 12000 people died and scientists took 64 years to find out the reason behind the formation of that smog.
Pale black strange and horrible like haze colour, the original inhabitants of London had never seen before, the smell of smog was so chemical and toxic that it was nothing less than a challenge for people to get out of the house. The day started earlier, before 6 December, when there was a longer winter than usual in London causing people to burn as much coal as possible to keep their house warmer. As a result, more smoke than usual dissolved into the atmosphere, colder and stability caused a situation like atmospheric anticyclonic throughout London City arose, due to which a huge cloud of smoke covered the entire city.
Serious problems faced-
The fog was so high that visibility became almost non-existent due to which people left their vehicles in the middle of the roads. The haze had become so much that it was difficult for people to even walk, due to the toxic environment of the time, people had to face many health effects including respiratory infection, hyperoxia, bronchitis and many other health effects of people Deaths soon began, with the number of deaths soon reaching 12,000, a later study showed that due to the presence of sulfuric acid in the smoke, so many people died, in fact, sulfuric acid came into the atmosphere from where it had remained a mystery for 64 years.
A team of scientists solved this mystery –
In November 2016, a team of scientists unrevealed the mystery, claiming that sulfur dioxide is mostly produced by burning coal, but how sulfur dioxide changed to sulfuric acid was still a question later scientific research showed that this process Was helped by nitrogen dioxide and early natural mist. The incident in London forced the UK Parliament to enact a law on pollution and the UK enacted the Clean Air Act in 1956, according to which a full ban on the burning of pollutants across the United Kingdom was banned. Scientists are now hoping that London His research on the Great Smog will lead to other environmental breakthroughs and will help solve problems in countries with high air pollution rates.
Read more about it – need to manage climate change
This Article was Published On: 22 January, 2019 And Last Modified On: 8 November, 2022
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