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We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. What is smog? Is smog unhealthy? Where does the word smog come from? Wonder What's Next? Try It Out We hope you enjoyed learning more about smog today! Be sure to check out the following activities with a friend or family member: Want to see smog close up? You don't have to travel to the big city. Just jump online to follow the simple directions and you'll be Making Smog in a jar in no time.
All you'll need are a few simple supplies, most of which you probably have at home already. Have fun making your own smog to see how it can pollute the air!
Want to learn more about what causes smog and how it can affect your health? Alternative names for these are London smog and Los Angeles smog respectively. London smog usually appears in colder months. Therefore, cities located close to the equator or in the subtropical sphere are not affected by it.
This type of air pollution emerges as a result of burning coal, the accumulation of particulate matter from industrial activity and a drop in temperature. The polluting particles mix with the cold air to form a thick fog that significantly worsens overall air quality. Sulfurous smog is characterized by a high concentration of sulfur dioxides, nitrogen dioxides, and dust. This type of smog is typical of the subtropical sphere, but there are some exceptions. It forms mainly in the summer months when temperatures reach high levels.
Los Angeles smog consists mainly of carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons. Contrary to sulfurous smog, photochemical smog originates from exhaust fumes and industrial emissions. As you can see, the factors causing these two types of air pollution vary. It is a combination of harmful pollutants often appearing relatively low to the ground as a yellow-brown haze that are introduced into the atmosphere by both natural and human induced processes.
Smog is made up of many chemicals including nitrogen oxides NOx , sulphur dioxide SOx , carbon monoxide CO , and volatile organic compounds VOCs , but the two main components of smog are particulate matter PM and ground-level ozone O 3. Normal smog often called London-type smog is mainly a product of burning large amounts of high sulfur coal.
Whereas photochemical smog is a more modern phenomena commonly produced by vehicle emissions in contact with sunlight —mostly from burning gasoline and diesel. Visit the page here to learn more about photochemical smog. This page does not include the chemical formulas in the formation of smog—to see them, along with more detail about smog, visit the UC Davis ChemWiki.
Smog forms when pollutants are released into the air. The pollutants are formed both naturally and by humans, however, the human-induced pollutants are of most concern due to the magnitude of pollutants produced by the burning and extraction of fossil fuels , which are known to cause extreme health effects. The location of smog formation is also of great concern, especially for human health, as a good portion of it is produced within cities where large portions of the population live.
One of the primary constituents, ozone, is created through chemical reactions between sunlight and certain pollutants. The other primary constituent, particulate matter, can also form through chemical reactions but is introduced to the atmosphere through other means as well. For cities located in river basins and surrounded by mountains, smog is a persistent problem because trapped smog in the valley cannot be carried by the wind.
Primary pollutants are the ones that contribute to smog formation and are emitted directly from the source. Secondary pollutants form in the atmosphere by chemical interactions of primary pollutants with normal environmental conditions.
The key pollutants that lead to air pollution are oxides of nitrogen, especially nitrogen oxides and nitric oxides, which are released in the atmosphere by combustion of fossil fuel coming from coal power plants, factory emissions and car exhausts. Nitrogen dioxide is a serious air pollutant, which, on inhalation, causes pulmonary edema an accumulation of excessive fluid in the lungs. Moreover, it contributes to photochemical smog, thus, causing serious damage to the environment.
Some less visible pollutants include halogen, containing compounds like chlorofluorocarbons CFCs. Sulfurous smog and photochemical smog are two distinct types of smog recognised so far. Sulfurous smog, also known as London smog, develops due to high concentration of sulfur oxides in the air.
This gas is a serious air pollutant, causing irritation to human eyes, nose and lungs. It is released into the air by sulfur-bearing fossil fuels like coal.
Volcanoes also emit sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. It is estimated that the emission of sulfur dioxide by natural sources is 24 per cent, whereas anthropogenic sources contribute the rest 76 per cent.
Photochemical smog is produced when sunlight reacts with oxides of nitrogen and at least one volatile organic compound VOC in the atmosphere.
The chemical formation of air-borne particles and ground-level ozone takes place in the sunlight. Paints, gasoline and many cleaning solvents release VOCs into the atmosphere. The aromatic compounds like benzene, toluene and xylene are carcinogenic and may cause leukemia.
It is found that VOCs may indirectly contribute to respiratory and other ozone-related problems. It is well known that ozone layer protects us from harmful UV rays. However, the ozone close to the ground is harmful, especially for those suffering from respiratory diseases like asthma. It can damage lung tissues, lead to itchy and burning eyes, interfere with photosynthesis and cause suppression in plant growth. To address adverse effects of fatal smog on human health, we referred to real time air quality data collected by the Central Pollution Control Board Nov , The objective was to analyse the effect of the most troublesome factors associated with smog—particulate matters PM 2.
Fine particulate matter PM 2. These particles arise from vehicle and industrial emissions, road dust, tire wear, construction, wood-burning and agriculture. Fuel combustion and chemical reactions lead to the formation of PM 2. This causes incessant cough, asthma and may even lead to lung cancer.
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