What are the harmful components of smog?
Smog can also contain other harmful components such as nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. As the colour of smog is determined by the suspended particles which compose it, smog is sometimes colourless.
What is smog and why is it harmful?
Smog is a harmful mixture of fog, dust and air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, etc. which combine with sunlight to form a dense layer of ground-level ozone. Ozone present high in the atmosphere is good, but when nearer to the ground, it can cause irritating health effects.
What is smog and how it is harmful for US?
Smog is air pollution that reduces visibility.The term "smog" was first used in the early 1900s to describe a mix of smoke and fog.The smoke usually came from burning coal.Smog was common in industrial areas, and remains a familiar sight in cities today. Today, most of the smog we see is photochemical smog.Photochemical smog is produced when sunlight reacts with nitrogen oxides and at least ...
What is smog and how is it caused?
Smog is a kind of air pollution, originally named for the mixture of smoke and fog in the air. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area and is caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Smog is a problem in a number of cities and continues to harm human health. What is smog and its types?
Etymology
Coinage of the term "smog" is often attributed to Dr. Henry Antoine Des Voeux in his 1905 paper, "Fog and Smoke" for a meeting of the Public Health Congress.
Causes
Coal fire can emit significant clouds of smoke that contribute to the formation of winter smog. Coal fires can be used to heat individual buildings or to provide energy in a power-producing plant. Air pollution from this source has been reported in England since the Middle Ages.
Photochemical smog
The photochemical smog formation diagram. (Based on U 6.3.3 in mrgsciences.com)
Health effects
Smog is a serious problem in many cities and continues to harm human health. Ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide are especially harmful for senior citizens, children, and people with heart and lung conditions such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma.
Areas affected
Smog can form in almost any climate where industries or cities release large amounts of air pollution, such as smoke or gases. However, it is worse during periods of warmer, sunnier weather when the upper air is warm enough to inhibit vertical circulation. It is especially prevalent in geologic basins encircled by hills or mountains.
Pollution index
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Cultural references
Claude Monet made several trips to London between 1899 and 1901, during which he painted views of the Thames and Houses of Parliament which show the sun struggling to shine through London's smog-laden atmosphere.
The Formation of Smog
Photochemical smog (or just smog for short) is a term used to describe air pollution that is a result of the interaction of sunlight with certain chemicals in the atmosphere. One of the primary components of photochemical smog is ozone.
Smog and Your Health
According to the American Lung Association, your lungs and heart can be permanently affected by air pollution and smog. While the young and the elderly are particularly susceptible to the effects of pollution, anyone with both short and long-term exposure can suffer ill health effects.
How to Protect Yourself From Air Pollutants
You can check the Air Quality Index (AQI) in your area. It may be reported on your weather app or local weather forecast or you can find it at the AirNow.gov website.
Air Quality Action Days
When air quality gets into unhealthy levels, local air pollution agencies declare an action day. These have different names depending on the agency. They may be called a Smog Alert, Air Quality Alert, Ozone Action Day, Air Pollution Action Day, Spare the Air Day, or many other terms.
Where Can You Live to Avoid Smog?
The American Lung Association provides air quality data for cities and states. You can check different locations for air quality when considering where to live. Cities in California lead the list due to the effects of sun and high levels of vehicular traffic.
What is ozone?
Ozone is a greenhouse gas made of three atoms of oxygen. Ozone can be helpful or harmful depending on where it is located. Stratospheric ozone, found in the upper atmosphere (which begins about 5 miles above Earth's surface), forms a protective layer that helps block ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
What is particulate matter?
Airborne particulate matter is made up of tiny liquid droplets and solid particles. While some particulate matter is large enough to be visible to the naked eye, much is microscopic. Particulate matter is directly emitted during combustion, for example from fires or diesel engines.
How do ozone and particulate matter affect human health?
Ground-level ozone and particulate matter are particularly harmful to respiratory health. Breathing ozone-polluted air can cause coughing and shortness of breath, damage and inflame airways, and aggravate asthma.
How do ozone and particulate matter affect the environment?
Ozone exposure can leave plants more susceptible to disease and drought and reduce agricultural yields.
How can we reduce smog?
In addition to recommending individual actions, such as choosing fuel-efficient vehicles, driving less, using electric lawn equipment, and selecting low-VOC paints and cleaners, state and federal regulatory agencies set air quality standards for ozone and other harmful air pollutants.
Overview
Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words smoke and fog to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then intended to refer to what was sometimes known as pea soup fog, a familiar and serious problem in London from the 19th century to the mid-20th century. This kind of v…
Etymology
Coinage of the term "smog" is often attributed to Dr. Henry Antoine Des Voeux in his 1905 paper, "Fog and Smoke" for a meeting of the Public Health Congress. The 26 July 1905 edition of the London newspaper Daily Graphic quoted Des Voeux, "He said it required no science to see that there was something produced in great cities which was not found in the country, and that was smoky fog, or what was known as 'smog'." The following day the newspaper stated that "Dr. Des …
Anthropogenic causes
Coal fire can emit significant clouds of smoke that contribute to the formation of winter smog. Coal fires can be used to heat individual buildings or to provide energy in a power-producing plant. Air pollution from this source has been reported in England since the Middle Ages. London, in particular, was notorious up through the mid-20th century for its coal-caused smogs, which were nicknamed "pea-soupers". Air pollution of this type is still a problem in areas that generate signifi…
Photochemical smog
Photochemical smog, often referred to as "summer smog", is the chemical reaction of sunlight, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere, which leaves airborne particles and ground-level ozone. Photochemical smog depends on primary pollutants as well as the formation of secondary pollutants. These primary pollutants include nitrogen oxides, particu…
Health effects
Smog is a serious problem in many cities and continues to harm human health. Ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide are especially harmful for senior citizens, children, and people with heart and lung conditions such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma. It can inflame breathing passages, decrease the lungs' working capacity, cause shortness of breath, pa…
Areas affected
Smog can form in almost any climate where industries or cities release large amounts of air pollution, such as smoke or gases. However, it is worse during periods of warmer, sunnier weather when the upper air is warm enough to inhibit vertical circulation. It is especially prevalent in geologic basins encircled by hills or mountains. It often stays for an extended period of time over densely popul…
Pollution index
The severity of smog is often measured using automated optical instruments such as nephelometers, as haze is associated with visibility and traffic control in ports. Haze, however, can also be an indication of poor air quality, though this is often better reflected using accurate purpose-built air indexes such as the American Air Quality Index, the Malaysian API (Air Pollution Index), and the Sin…
Cultural references
• The London "pea-soupers" earned the capital the nickname of "The Smoke". Similarly, Edinburgh was known as "Auld Reekie". The smogs feature in many London novels as a motif indicating hidden danger or a mystery, perhaps most overtly in Margery Allingham's The Tiger in the Smoke (1952), but also in Dickens's Bleak House (1852) and T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock".