air pollution essay causes and effects

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Air Pollution: Causes and Effects

• Categories: Air Pollution Environmental Issues Pollution

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Updated: 30 November, 2023

Words: 723 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

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Air Pollution Essay: Hook Examples

• The Silent Killer: Delve into the invisible threat that surrounds us every day, affecting our health, environment, and future generations – air pollution.
• Gasping for Breath: Paint a vivid picture of individuals struggling to breathe in polluted cities, highlighting the urgency of addressing this pressing issue.
• Nature’s S.O.S: Explore how wildlife and ecosystems send distress signals through the impact of air pollution, underscoring the interconnectedness of all living beings.
• The Economic Toll: Uncover the hidden costs of air pollution on healthcare, productivity, and quality of life, revealing the far-reaching consequences of our actions.
• Clean Air, Clear Future: Imagine a world where we embrace cleaner technologies and sustainable practices, offering a vision of hope and change in the fight against air pollution.

Works Cited

• Agarwal, A., & Agarwal, S. (2020). Air Pollution: Sources, Effects, and Control. CRC Press.
• Cohen, A. J., Brauer, M., Burnett, R., Anderson, H. R., Frostad, J., Estep, K., … & Balakrishnan, K. (2017). Estimates and 25-year trends of the global burden of disease attributable to ambient air pollution: an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2015. The Lancet, 389(10082), 1907-1918.
• Guttikunda, S. K., & Gurjar, B. R. (2012). Role of meteorology in seasonality of air pollution in megacity Delhi, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 184(5), 3199-3211.
• He, G., Ying, Q., Ma, Y., Cheng, L., Wang, Y., & Liu, Y. (2016). Health risks of air pollution in China: a special focus on particulate matter. Environmental Pollution, 211, 17-30.
• Heyder, J., Gebhart, J., Rudolf, G., & Schiller, C. (1986). St deposition in the human respiratory tract as determined by cyclone techniques. Environmental Health Perspectives, 66, 149-159.
• Khan, M. N., Islam, M. M., Siddiqui, M. N., & Islam, M. S. (2019). Sources and Impact of Air Pollution on Human Health. In Sustainable Environment and Transportation (pp. 307-334). Springer.
• Kumar, P., Kumar, A., & Goyal, P. (2020). Air Pollution: Measurement, Modelling and Mitigation. CRC Press.
• Lelieveld, J., Evans, J. S., Fnais, M., Giannadaki, D., & Pozzer, A. (2015). The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale. Nature, 525(7569), 367-371.

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What is air pollution?

What causes air pollution, effects of air pollution, air pollution in the united states, air pollution and environmental justice, controlling air pollution, how to help reduce air pollution, how to protect your health.

Air pollution  refers to the release of pollutants into the air—pollutants that are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole. According to the  World Health Organization (WHO) , each year, indoor and outdoor air pollution is responsible for nearly seven million deaths around the globe. Ninety-nine percent of human beings currently breathe air that exceeds the WHO’s guideline limits for pollutants, with those living in low- and middle-income countries suffering the most. In the United States, the  Clean Air Act , established in 1970, authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to safeguard public health by regulating the emissions of these harmful air pollutants.

“Most air pollution comes from energy use and production,” says  John Walke , director of the Clean Air team at NRDC. Driving a car on gasoline, heating a home with oil, running a power plant on  fracked gas : In each case, a fossil fuel is burned and harmful chemicals and gases are released into the air.

“We’ve made progress over the last 50 years in improving air quality in the United States, thanks to the Clean Air Act. But climate change will make it harder in the future to meet pollution standards, which are designed to  protect health ,” says Walke.

Air pollution is now the world’s fourth-largest risk factor for early death. According to the 2020  State of Global Air  report —which summarizes the latest scientific understanding of air pollution around the world—4.5 million deaths were linked to outdoor air pollution exposures in 2019, and another 2.2 million deaths were caused by indoor air pollution. The world’s most populous countries, China and India, continue to bear the highest burdens of disease.

“Despite improvements in reducing global average mortality rates from air pollution, this report also serves as a sobering reminder that the climate crisis threatens to worsen air pollution problems significantly,” explains  Vijay Limaye , senior scientist in NRDC’s Science Office. Smog, for instance, is intensified by increased heat, forming when the weather is warmer and there’s more ultraviolet radiation. In addition, climate change increases the production of allergenic air pollutants, including mold (thanks to damp conditions caused by extreme weather and increased flooding) and pollen (due to a longer pollen season). “Climate change–fueled droughts and dry conditions are also setting the stage for dangerous wildfires,” adds Limaye. “ Wildfire smoke can linger for days and pollute the air with particulate matter hundreds of miles downwind.”

The effects of air pollution on the human body vary, depending on the type of pollutant, the length and level of exposure, and other factors, including a person’s individual health risks and the cumulative impacts of multiple pollutants or stressors.

Smog and soot

These are the two most prevalent types of air pollution. Smog (sometimes referred to as ground-level ozone) occurs when emissions from combusting fossil fuels react with sunlight. Soot—a type of  particulate matter —is made up of tiny particles of chemicals, soil, smoke, dust, or allergens that are carried in the air. The sources of smog and soot are similar. “Both come from cars and trucks, factories, power plants, incinerators, engines, generally anything that combusts fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, or natural gas,” Walke says.

Smog can irritate the eyes and throat and also damage the lungs, especially those of children, senior citizens, and people who work or exercise outdoors. It’s even worse for people who have asthma or allergies; these extra pollutants can intensify their symptoms and trigger asthma attacks. The tiniest airborne particles in soot are especially dangerous because they can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream and worsen bronchitis, lead to heart attacks, and even hasten death. In  2020, a report from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health showed that COVID-19 mortality rates were higher in areas with more particulate matter pollution than in areas with even slightly less, showing a correlation between the virus’s deadliness and long-term exposure to air pollution. 

These findings also illuminate an important  environmental justice issue . Because highways and polluting facilities have historically been sited in or next to low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, the negative effects of this pollution have been  disproportionately experienced by the people who live in these communities.

Hazardous air pollutants

A number of air pollutants pose severe health risks and can sometimes be fatal, even in small amounts. Almost 200 of them are regulated by law; some of the most common are mercury,  lead , dioxins, and benzene. “These are also most often emitted during gas or coal combustion, incineration, or—in the case of benzene—found in gasoline,” Walke says. Benzene, classified as a carcinogen by the EPA, can cause eye, skin, and lung irritation in the short term and blood disorders in the long term. Dioxins, more typically found in food but also present in small amounts in the air, is another carcinogen that can affect the liver in the short term and harm the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems, as well as reproductive functions.  Mercury  attacks the central nervous system. In large amounts, lead can damage children’s brains and kidneys, and even minimal exposure can affect children’s IQ and ability to learn.

Another category of toxic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are by-products of traffic exhaust and wildfire smoke. In large amounts, they have been linked to eye and lung irritation, blood and liver issues, and even cancer.  In one study , the children of mothers exposed to PAHs during pregnancy showed slower brain-processing speeds and more pronounced symptoms of ADHD.

Greenhouse gases

While these climate pollutants don’t have the direct or immediate impacts on the human body associated with other air pollutants, like smog or hazardous chemicals, they are still harmful to our health. By trapping the earth’s heat in the atmosphere, greenhouse gases lead to warmer temperatures, which in turn lead to the hallmarks of climate change: rising sea levels, more extreme weather, heat-related deaths, and the increased transmission of infectious diseases. In 2021, carbon dioxide accounted for roughly 79 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and methane made up more than 11 percent. “Carbon dioxide comes from combusting fossil fuels, and methane comes from natural and industrial sources, including large amounts that are released during oil and gas drilling,” Walke says. “We emit far larger amounts of carbon dioxide, but methane is significantly more potent, so it’s also very destructive.” 

Another class of greenhouse gases,  hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) , are thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in their ability to trap heat. In October 2016, more than 140 countries signed the Kigali Agreement to reduce the use of these chemicals—which are found in air conditioners and refrigerators—and develop greener alternatives over time. (The United States officially signed onto the  Kigali Agreement in 2022.)

Pollen and mold

Mold and allergens from trees, weeds, and grass are also carried in the air, are exacerbated by climate change, and can be hazardous to health. Though they aren’t regulated, they can be considered a form of air pollution. “When homes, schools, or businesses get water damage, mold can grow and produce allergenic airborne pollutants,” says Kim Knowlton, professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University and a former NRDC scientist. “ Mold exposure can precipitate asthma attacks  or an allergic response, and some molds can even produce toxins that would be dangerous for anyone to inhale.”

Pollen allergies are worsening  because of climate change . “Lab and field studies are showing that pollen-producing plants—especially ragweed—grow larger and produce more pollen when you increase the amount of carbon dioxide that they grow in,” Knowlton says. “Climate change also extends the pollen production season, and some studies are beginning to suggest that ragweed pollen itself might be becoming a more potent allergen.” If so, more people will suffer runny noses, fevers, itchy eyes, and other symptoms. “And for people with allergies and asthma, pollen peaks can precipitate asthma attacks, which are far more serious and can be life-threatening.”

More than one in three U.S. residents—120 million people—live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the  2023  State of the Air  report by the American Lung Association (ALA). Since the annual report was first published, in 2000, its findings have shown how the Clean Air Act has been able to reduce harmful emissions from transportation, power plants, and manufacturing.

Recent findings, however, reflect how climate change–fueled wildfires and extreme heat are adding to the challenges of protecting public health. The latest report—which focuses on ozone, year-round particle pollution, and short-term particle pollution—also finds that people of color are 61 percent more likely than white people to live in a county with a failing grade in at least one of those categories, and three times more likely to live in a county that fails in all three.

In rankings for each of the three pollution categories covered by the ALA report, California cities occupy the top three slots (i.e., were highest in pollution), despite progress that the Golden State has made in reducing air pollution emissions in the past half century. At the other end of the spectrum, these cities consistently rank among the country’s best for air quality: Burlington, Vermont; Honolulu; and Wilmington, North Carolina. 

No one wants to live next door to an incinerator, oil refinery, port, toxic waste dump, or other polluting site. Yet millions of people around the world do, and this puts them at a much higher risk for respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, neurological damage, cancer, and death. In the United States, people of color are 1.5 times more likely than whites to live in areas with poor air quality, according to the ALA.

Historically, racist zoning policies and discriminatory lending practices known as  redlining  have combined to keep polluting industries and car-choked highways away from white neighborhoods and have turned communities of color—especially low-income and working-class communities of color—into sacrifice zones, where residents are forced to breathe dirty air and suffer the many health problems associated with it. In addition to the increased health risks that come from living in such places, the polluted air can economically harm residents in the form of missed workdays and higher medical costs.

Environmental racism isn't limited to cities and industrial areas. Outdoor laborers, including the estimated three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States, are among the most vulnerable to air pollution—and they’re also among the least equipped, politically, to pressure employers and lawmakers to affirm their right to breathe clean air.

Recently,  cumulative impact mapping , which uses data on environmental conditions and demographics, has been able to show how some communities are overburdened with layers of issues, like high levels of poverty, unemployment, and pollution. Tools like the  Environmental Justice Screening Method  and the EPA’s  EJScreen  provide evidence of what many environmental justice communities have been explaining for decades: that we need land use and public health reforms to ensure that vulnerable areas are not overburdened and that the people who need resources the most are receiving them.

In the United States, the  Clean Air Act  has been a crucial tool for reducing air pollution since its passage in 1970, although fossil fuel interests aided by industry-friendly lawmakers have frequently attempted to  weaken its many protections. Ensuring that this bedrock environmental law remains intact and properly enforced will always be key to maintaining and improving our air quality.

But the best, most effective way to control air pollution is to speed up our transition to cleaner fuels and industrial processes. By switching over to renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power), maximizing fuel efficiency in our vehicles, and replacing more and more of our gasoline-powered cars and trucks with electric versions, we'll be limiting air pollution at its source while also curbing the global warming that heightens so many of its worst health impacts.

And what about the economic costs of controlling air pollution? According to a report on the Clean Air Act commissioned by NRDC, the annual  benefits of cleaner air  are up to 32 times greater than the cost of clean air regulations. Those benefits include up to 370,000 avoided premature deaths, 189,000 fewer hospital admissions for cardiac and respiratory illnesses, and net economic benefits of up to $3.8 trillion for the U.S. economy every year.

“The less gasoline we burn, the better we’re doing to reduce air pollution and the harmful effects of climate change,” Walke explains. “Make good choices about transportation. When you can, ride a bike, walk, or take public transportation. For driving, choose a car that gets better miles per gallon of gas or  buy an electric car .” You can also investigate your power provider options—you may be able to request that your electricity be supplied by wind or solar. Buying your food locally cuts down on the fossil fuels burned in trucking or flying food in from across the world. And most important: “Support leaders who push for clean air and water and responsible steps on climate change,” Walke says.

• “When you see in the news or hear on the weather report that pollution levels are high, it may be useful to limit the time when children go outside or you go for a jog,” Walke says. Generally, ozone levels tend to be lower in the morning.
• If you exercise outside, stay as far as you can from heavily trafficked roads. Then shower and wash your clothes to remove fine particles.
• The air may look clear, but that doesn’t mean it’s pollution free. Utilize tools like the EPA’s air pollution monitor,  AirNow , to get the latest conditions. If the air quality is bad, stay inside with the windows closed.
• If you live or work in an area that’s prone to wildfires,  stay away from the harmful smoke  as much as you’re able. Consider keeping a small stock of masks to wear when conditions are poor. The most ideal masks for smoke particles will be labelled “NIOSH” (which stands for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and have either “N95” or “P100” printed on it.
• If you’re using an air conditioner while outdoor pollution conditions are bad, use the recirculating setting to limit the amount of polluted air that gets inside. 

This story was originally published on November 1, 2016, and has been updated with new information and links.

This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can’t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can’t republish our material wholesale or automatically—you need to select stories individually; you can’t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you’ve used one of our stories.

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Essay on Air Pollution for Students and Children

500+ words essay on air pollution.

Essay on Air Pollution – Earlier the air we breathe in use to be pure and fresh. But, due to increasing industrialization and concentration of poisonous gases in the environment the air is getting more and more toxic day by day. Also, these gases are the cause of many respiratory and other diseases . Moreover, the rapidly increasing human activities like the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation is the major cause of air pollution.

How Air Gets Polluted?

The fossil fuel , firewood, and other things that we burn produce oxides of carbons which got released into the atmosphere. Earlier there happens to be a large number of trees which can easily filter the air we breathe in. But with the increase in demand for land, the people started cutting down of trees which caused deforestation. That ultimately reduced the filtering capacity of the tree.

Moreover, during the last few decades, the numbers of fossil fuel burning vehicle increased rapidly which increased the number of pollutants in the air .

Causes Of Air Pollution

Its causes include burning of fossil fuel and firewood, smoke released from factories , volcanic eruptions, forest fires, bombardment, asteroids, CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons), carbon oxides and many more.

Besides, there are some other air pollutants like industrial waste, agricultural waste, power plants, thermal nuclear plants, etc.

Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is also the cause of air pollution because air pollution produces the gases that greenhouse involves. Besides, it increases the temperature of earth surface so much that the polar caps are melting and most of the UV rays are easily penetrating the surface of the earth.

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Effects Of Air Pollution On Health

Moreover, it increases the rate of aging of lungs, decreases lungs function, damage cells in the respiratory system.

Ways To Reduce Air Pollution

Although the level of air pollution has reached a critical point. But, there are still ways by which we can reduce the number of air pollutants from the air.

Reforestation- The quality of air can be improved by planting more and more trees as they clean and filter the air.

Policy for industries- Strict policy for industries related to the filter of gases should be introduced in the countries. So, we can minimize the toxins released from factories.

Use of eco-friendly fuel-  We have to adopt the usage of Eco-friendly fuels such as LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas), CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), bio-gas, and other eco-friendly fuels. So, we can reduce the amount of harmful toxic gases.

To sum it up, we can say that the air we breathe is getting more and more polluted day by day. The biggest contribution to the increase in air pollution is of fossil fuels which produce nitric and sulphuric oxides. But, humans have taken this problem seriously and are devotedly working to eradicate the problem that they have created.

Above all, many initiatives like plant trees, use of eco-friendly fuel are promoted worldwide.

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• Air Pollution Essay

Essay on Air Pollution

Environmental changes are caused by the natural or artificial content of harmful pollutants and can cause instability, disturbance, or adverse effects on the ecosystem. Earth and its environment pose a more serious threat due to the increasing pollution of air, water, and soil. Environmental damage is caused by improper resource management or careless human activities. Therefore, any activity that violates the original nature of the environment and leads to degradation is called pollution. We need to understand the origin of these pollutants and find ways to control pollution. This can also be done by raising awareness of the effects of pollutants.

Air pollution is any physical, chemical, or biological change in the air. A certain percentage of the gas is present in the atmosphere. Increasing or decreasing the composition of these gasses is detrimental to survival. This imbalance in gas composition causes an increase in global temperature which is called global warming.

Introduction to air pollution 

The Earth and its environment are facing a serious threat by the increasing pollution of the air, water, and soil—the vital life support systems of the Earth. The damage to the environment is caused by improper management of resources or by careless human activity. Hence any activity that violates the original character of nature and leads to its degradation is called pollution. We need to understand the sources of these pollutants and find ways to control pollution. This can be also done by making people aware of the effects of pollutants. 

Air with 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, and 1% of all other gasses support life on Earth. Various processes take place to sustain the regular percentage of gasses and their composition in general. 

Atmospheric pollution can have natural sources, for example, volcanic eruptions. The gaseous by-products of man-made processes such as energy production, waste incineration, transport, deforestation and agriculture, are the major air pollutants.

Although air is made up of mostly Oxygen and Nitrogen, mankind, through pollution, has increased the levels of many trace gasses, and in some cases, released completely new gasses to the atmosphere. 

Air pollution can result in poor air quality, both in cities and in the countryside. Some air pollutants make people sick, causing breathing problems and increasing the likelihood of cancer. 

Some air pollutants are harmful to plants, animals, and the ecosystems in which they live. Statues, monuments, and buildings are being corroded by the air pollutants in the form of acid rain. It also damages crops and forests, and makes lakes and streams unsuitable for fish and other plant and animal life. 

Air pollution created by man-made resources is also changing the Earth’s atmosphere. It is causing the depletion of the ozone layer and letting in more harmful radiation from the Sun. The greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere prevents heat from escaping back into space and leads to a rise in global average temperatures. Global warming affects the average sea-level and increases the spread of tropical diseases.

Air pollution occurs when large amounts of gas and tiny particles are released into the air and the ecological balance is disturbed. Each year millions of tons of gasses and particulate matter are emitted into the air. 

Primary air pollutants are pollutants, which are directly released into the air. They are called SPM, i.e., Suspended Particulate Matter. For example, smoke, dust, ash, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and radioactive compounds, etc.

Secondary Pollutants are pollutants, which are formed due to chemical interactions between the atmospheric components and primary pollutants. For example, Smog (i.e. Smoke and fog), ozone, etc.

Major gaseous air pollutants include Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide, etc.

Natural sources are volcanic eruptions, forest fires, dust storms, etc. 

Man-made sources include gasses released from the automobiles, industries, burning of garbage and bricks kilns, etc.

Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health

Air pollution has adverse effects on human health. 

Breathing polluted air puts you at higher risk of asthma.

When exposed to ground ozone for 6 to 7 hours, people suffer from respiratory inflammation.

Damages the immune system, endocrine, and reproductive systems.

A high level of air pollution has been associated with higher incidents of heart problems.

The toxic chemicals released into the air are affecting the flora and fauna immensely.

Preventive Measures to Reduce Air Pollution

We can prevent pollution by utilizing raw materials, water energy, and other resources more efficiently. When less harmful substances are substituted for hazardous ones, and when toxic substances are eliminated from the production process, human health can be protected and economic wellbeing can be strengthened. 

There are several measures that can be adopted by people to reduce pollution and to save the environment.

Carpooling.

Promotion of public transport.

No smoking zone.

Restricted use of fossil fuels.

Saving energy.

Encouraging organic farming.

The government has put restrictions on the amount of fossil fuels that can be used as well as restrictions on how much carbon dioxide and other pollutants can be emitted. Although the government is attempting to save our environment from these harmful gasses, it is not sufficient. We as a society need to keep the environment clean by controlling the pollution of air.

FAQs on Air Pollution Essay

1. State the Causes of Air Pollution ?

The following are the causes of air pollution.

Vehicular pollution consisting of Carbon Monoxide causes pollution.

Emission of Nitrogen oxide by a large number of supersonic transport airplanes causes deterioration of the Ozone layer and also causes serious damage to the flora and fauna.

The release of Chlorofluorocarbons into the Stratosphere causes depletion of Ozone, which is a serious concern to animals, microscopic, and aquatic organisms.

Burning garbage causes smoke, which pollutes the atmosphere. This smoke contains harmful gases such as Carbon dioxide and Nitrogen oxides.

In India, brick kilns are used for many purposes and coal is used to burn the bricks. They give out huge quantities of Carbon dioxide and particulate matter such as smoke, dust that are very harmful to people working there and the areas surrounding it. 

Many cleansing agents release poisonous gases such as Ammonia and Chlorine into the atmosphere. 

Radioactive elements emit harmful rays into the air.

Decomposed animals and plants emit Methane and Ammonia gas into the air.

2. What Does Global Warming Mean?

Global warming is the gradual rising average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere due to the concentration of methane in certain toxic gasses such as carbon dioxide. This has a major impact on the world climate. The world is warming. The land and the sea are now warmer than they were at the beginning and temperatures are still rising. This rise in temperature is, in short, global warming. This temperature rise is man-made. The burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere which capture solar heat and raise surface and air temperatures.

3. Name the Alternative Modes of Transport. In What Way Does it Help to Reduce Air Pollution?

Public transport could be an alternative mode of transport. Public transport like trains, buses and trams, can relieve traffic congestion and reduce air pollution from road transport. The use of public transport must be encouraged in order to develop a sustainable transport policy.

4. Mention other means of transportation! How can I help reduce air pollution?

Public transportation can be another mode of transportation. Public transport such as trains, buses and trams can reduce traffic congestion and reduce air pollution from road transport. The use of public transport and to develop sustainable transport policies should be encouraged. While one passenger vehicle has the convenience factor, other modes of transportation reduce travel costs, spend less time, reduce stress, improve health, and reduce energy consumption and parking. Other trips for work include walking/cycling, public transport, hybrid travel and transport.

5. What are the effects of pollution?

Excessive air pollution can increase the risk of heart attack, wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing, as well as irritation of the eyes, nose and throat. Air pollution can also cause heart problems, asthma, and other lung problems. Due to the emission of greenhouse gases, the composition of the air in the air is disturbed. This causes an increase in global temperature. The damaging ozone layer due to air pollution does not prevent harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, which cause skin and eye problems in individuals. Air pollution has caused a number of respiratory and heart diseases among people. The incidence of lung cancer has increased in recent decades. Children living in contaminated areas are more likely to develop pneumonia and asthma. Many people die every year due to the direct or indirect effects of air pollution. When burning fossil fuels, harmful gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the air. Water droplets combine with these pollutants and become acidic and fall as acid rain, which harms human, animal and plant life.

6. What is the solution to air pollution?

Production of renewable fuels and clean energy. The basic solution to air pollution is to get away from fossil fuels and replace them with other energies such as solar, wind and geothermal. The government limits the amount of fossil fuel that can be used and how much carbon dioxide and other pollutants it can emit. While the government is trying to save our environment from this harmful gas, it is not enough. We as a society need to keep the environment clean by controlling air pollution. To more in detail about air pollution and its causes. To learn more about air pollution and its impact on the environment, visit the Vedantu website.

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Air pollution.

Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings.

Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Geography

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Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings. Pollutants in the air take many forms. They can be gases , solid particles, or liquid droplets. Sources of Air Pollution Pollution enters the Earth's atmosphere in many different ways. Most air pollution is created by people, taking the form of emissions from factories, cars, planes, or aerosol cans . Second-hand cigarette smoke is also considered air pollution. These man-made sources of pollution are called anthropogenic sources . Some types of air pollution, such as smoke from wildfires or ash from volcanoes , occur naturally. These are called natural sources . Air pollution is most common in large cities where emissions from many different sources are concentrated . Sometimes, mountains or tall buildings prevent air pollution from spreading out. This air pollution often appears as a cloud making the air murky. It is called smog . The word "smog" comes from combining the words "smoke" and " fog ." Large cities in poor and developing nations tend to have more air pollution than cities in developed nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , some of the worlds most polluted cities are Karachi, Pakistan; New Delhi, India; Beijing, China; Lima, Peru; and Cairo, Egypt. However, many developed nations also have air pollution problems. Los Angeles, California, is nicknamed Smog City. Indoor Air Pollution Air pollution is usually thought of as smoke from large factories or exhaust from vehicles. But there are many types of indoor air pollution as well. Heating a house by burning substances such as kerosene , wood, and coal can contaminate the air inside the house. Ash and smoke make breathing difficult, and they can stick to walls, food, and clothing. Naturally-occurring radon gas, a cancer -causing material, can also build up in homes. Radon is released through the surface of the Earth. Inexpensive systems installed by professionals can reduce radon levels. Some construction materials, including insulation , are also dangerous to people's health. In addition, ventilation , or air movement, in homes and rooms can lead to the spread of toxic mold . A single colony of mold may exist in a damp, cool place in a house, such as between walls. The mold's spores enter the air and spread throughout the house. People can become sick from breathing in the spores. Effects On Humans People experience a wide range of health effects from being exposed to air pollution. Effects can be broken down into short-term effects and long-term effects . Short-term effects, which are temporary , include illnesses such as pneumonia or bronchitis . They also include discomfort such as irritation to the nose, throat, eyes, or skin. Air pollution can also cause headaches, dizziness, and nausea . Bad smells made by factories, garbage , or sewer systems are considered air pollution, too. These odors are less serious but still unpleasant . Long-term effects of air pollution can last for years or for an entire lifetime. They can even lead to a person's death. Long-term health effects from air pollution include heart disease , lung cancer, and respiratory diseases such as emphysema . Air pollution can also cause long-term damage to people's nerves , brain, kidneys , liver , and other organs. Some scientists suspect air pollutants cause birth defects . Nearly 2.5 million people die worldwide each year from the effects of outdoor or indoor air pollution. People react differently to different types of air pollution. Young children and older adults, whose immune systems tend to be weaker, are often more sensitive to pollution. Conditions such as asthma , heart disease, and lung disease can be made worse by exposure to air pollution. The length of exposure and amount and type of pollutants are also factors. Effects On The Environment Like people, animals, and plants, entire ecosystems can suffer effects from air pollution. Haze , like smog, is a visible type of air pollution that obscures shapes and colors. Hazy air pollution can even muffle sounds. Air pollution particles eventually fall back to Earth. Air pollution can directly contaminate the surface of bodies of water and soil . This can kill crops or reduce their yield . It can kill young trees and other plants. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide particles in the air, can create acid rain when they mix with water and oxygen in the atmosphere. These air pollutants come mostly from coal-fired power plants and motor vehicles . When acid rain falls to Earth, it damages plants by changing soil composition ; degrades water quality in rivers, lakes and streams; damages crops; and can cause buildings and monuments to decay . Like humans, animals can suffer health effects from exposure to air pollution. Birth defects, diseases, and lower reproductive rates have all been attributed to air pollution. Global Warming Global warming is an environmental phenomenon caused by natural and anthropogenic air pollution. It refers to rising air and ocean temperatures around the world. This temperature rise is at least partially caused by an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap heat energy in the Earths atmosphere. (Usually, more of Earths heat escapes into space.) Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that has had the biggest effect on global warming. Carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels (coal, gasoline , and natural gas ). Humans have come to rely on fossil fuels to power cars and planes, heat homes, and run factories. Doing these things pollutes the air with carbon dioxide. Other greenhouse gases emitted by natural and artificial sources also include methane , nitrous oxide , and fluorinated gases. Methane is a major emission from coal plants and agricultural processes. Nitrous oxide is a common emission from industrial factories, agriculture, and the burning of fossil fuels in cars. Fluorinated gases, such as hydrofluorocarbons , are emitted by industry. Fluorinated gases are often used instead of gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs have been outlawed in many places because they deplete the ozone layer . Worldwide, many countries have taken steps to reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming. The Kyoto Protocol , first adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, is an agreement between 183 countries that they will work to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. The United States has not signed that treaty . Regulation In addition to the international Kyoto Protocol, most developed nations have adopted laws to regulate emissions and reduce air pollution. In the United States, debate is under way about a system called cap and trade to limit emissions. This system would cap, or place a limit, on the amount of pollution a company is allowed. Companies that exceeded their cap would have to pay. Companies that polluted less than their cap could trade or sell their remaining pollution allowance to other companies. Cap and trade would essentially pay companies to limit pollution. In 2006 the World Health Organization issued new Air Quality Guidelines. The WHOs guidelines are tougher than most individual countries existing guidelines. The WHO guidelines aim to reduce air pollution-related deaths by 15 percent a year. Reduction Anybody can take steps to reduce air pollution. Millions of people every day make simple changes in their lives to do this. Taking public transportation instead of driving a car, or riding a bike instead of traveling in carbon dioxide-emitting vehicles are a couple of ways to reduce air pollution. Avoiding aerosol cans, recycling yard trimmings instead of burning them, and not smoking cigarettes are others.

Downwinders The United States conducted tests of nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada in the 1950s. These tests sent invisible radioactive particles into the atmosphere. These air pollution particles traveled with wind currents, eventually falling to Earth, sometimes hundreds of miles away in states including Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Washington. These areas were considered to be "downwind" from the Nevada Test Site. Decades later, people living in those downwind areascalled "downwinders"began developing cancer at above-normal rates. In 1990, the U.S. government passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. This law entitles some downwinders to payments of $50,000.

Greenhouse Gases There are five major greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere.

• water vapor
• carbon dioxide
• nitrous oxide

London Smog What has come to be known as the London Smog of 1952, or the Great Smog of 1952, was a four-day incident that sickened 100,000 people and caused as many as 12,000 deaths. Very cold weather in December 1952 led residents of London, England, to burn more coal to keep warm. Smoke and other pollutants became trapped by a thick fog that settled over the city. The polluted fog became so thick that people could only see a few meters in front of them.

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4 Causes and Effects of Air Pollution

Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants into the air, which can be harmful and impose significant health risks to the population, including increased chances of coronary and respiratory diseases, as well as preliminary deaths. Made up of chemicals and pollutant particles, air pollution is one of the biggest environmental problems of our lifetime . Read on to learn about the major causes and effects of air pollution. 

Sources of Air Pollution

1. burning fossil fuels.

The biggest contributors of air pollution are from industry sources and power plants to generate power, as well as fossil fuel motor vehicles. The continuous burning of fossil fuels releases air pollutants, emissions and chemicals into the air and atmosphere. 

In 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that about 68 million tons of air pollution were emitted into the atmosphere in the US, contributing to the “formation of ozone and particles, the deposition of acids, and visibility impairment.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates around 91% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed limits. Developing and low-income countries experienced the greatest impacts from outdoor air pollution, particularly in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions. 

Climate change has an interrelated relationship with the environment and air pollution. As more air pollutants and greenhouse gases are released, this alters the energy balance between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface , which leads to global warming. The global temperature increase in turns raises the production of allergenic air pollutants such as mold and extends pollen seasons. 

2. Ozone and Smog

Ozone is a gas that when it forms air pollution and reaches too close to the ground, it significantly reduces visibility. We call this smog. This form of air pollution occurs when sunlight reacts with nitrogen oxides released from car exhausts and coal power plants. The ozone typically forms a protective layer in the atmosphere to protect the population from ultraviolet radiation (UV), but as it transforms into smog, it is harmful to human health and poses higher risks of respiratory illnesses like asthma and lung cancer. 

3. Weather Conditions

Air pollution and poor air quality can be attributed to changing weather conditions. For example, dust storms in China would carry clouds of industrial pollutants and particulate pollution across the Gobi desert into neighbouring countries such as Korea and Japan during spring season. Likewise during periods of high air pressure, air becomes stagnant and pollutants are more concentrated over certain areas. 

4. Heatwaves and Wildfires

Heatwaves not only lead to an increase of temperature, but are some of the causes and effects of air pollution. Hotter, stagnant air during a heat wave increases the concentration of particle pollutants. Extreme heat wave events also have higher risks of large-scale wildfires, which in turn, releases more carbon emissions, smog and pollutants into the air. 

You might also like: 15 Most Polluted Cities in the World

Effects of Air Pollution 

Air pollution contributes to the death of 5 million every year and about 6% of the global population, according to Our World in Data . The lethal combination of outdoor air pollution and toxic emissions from burning fossil fuel has been one of the leading causes of chronic and often terminal health issues including heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and lower respiratory infections. 

The WHO estimates that nine out of 10 people breathe air that contains high levels of pollutants. In 2017, close to 15% of population deaths in low income countries like South and East Asia are attributed to air pollution, while the higher income countries experience only about 2%. 

The drastic difference in mortality numbers can be linked to legislations such as the Clean Air Act implemented by high-income countries like the US. Such legislations usually establishes national air quality standards and regulations on hazardous air pollutants. The UK in particular, saw a sharp 60% decline in air pollutant emissions between the 1970 and 2016. 

The environmental effects of air pollution are also vast, ranging from acid rain to contributing to birth defects, reproductive failure, and diseases in wildlife animals. Agriculture is also a victim of air pollution as increased pollutants can affect crop and forest yields, reduce growth  and increased plant susceptibility to disease from increased UV radiation caused by ozone depletion.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollution has once again returned to the spotlight in relation to its role in transmitting virus molecules. Preliminary studies have identified a positive correlation between COVID-19-related mortalities and air pollution. China, being one of the most polluted countries in the world, can potentially link its high death toll during the pandemic to its poor air quality. Although, more research needs to be conducted to make any substantive correlation.

You might also like: History of Air Pollution: Have We Reached the Point of No Return?

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by Chris Woodford . Last updated: November 22, 2022.

Photo: Air pollution is obvious when it pours from a smokestack (chimney), but it's not always so easy to spot. This is an old photo of the kind of smoke that used to come from coal-fired power plants and, apart from soot (unburned carbon particles), its pollutants include sulfur dioxide and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Thanks to tougher pollution controls, modern power plants produce only a fraction as much pollution. Modern pollution made by traffic consists of gases like nitrogen dioxide and "particulates" (microscopic soot and dust fragments) that are largely invisible.

What is air pollution?

Air pollution is a gas (or a liquid or solid dispersed through ordinary air) released in a big enough quantity to harm the health of people or other animals, kill plants or stop them growing properly, damage or disrupt some other aspect of the environment (such as making buildings crumble), or cause some other kind of nuisance (reduced visibility, perhaps, or an unpleasant odor).

Natural air pollution

Photo: Forest fires are a completely natural cause of air pollution. We'll never be able to prevent them breaking out or stop the pollution they cause; our best hope is to manage forests, where we can, so fires don't spread. Ironically, that can mean deliberately burning areas of forest, as shown here, to create firebreaks. Forests are also deliberately burned to regenerate ecosystems. Photo by courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service .

Top-ten kinds of air pollution Photo: Flying molecules—if you could see air pollution close up, this is what it would look like. Image courtesy of US Department of Energy. Any gas could qualify as pollution if it reached a high enough concentration to do harm. Theoretically, that means there are dozens of different pollution gases. It's important to note that not all the things we think of as pollution are gases: some are aerosols (liquids or solids dispersed through gases). In practice, about ten different substances cause most concern: Sulfur dioxide : Coal, petroleum, and other fuels are often impure and contain sulfur as well as organic (carbon-based) compounds. When sulfur (spelled "sulphur" in some countries) burns with oxygen from the air, sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) is produced. Coal-fired power plants are the world's biggest source of sulfur-dioxide air pollution, which contributes to smog, acid rain, and health problems that include lung disease. [5] Large amounts of sulfur dioxide are also produced by ships, which use dirtier diesel fuel than cars and trucks. [6] Carbon monoxide : This highly dangerous gas forms when fuels have too little oxygen to burn completely. It spews out in car exhausts and it can also build up to dangerous levels inside your home if you have a poorly maintained gas boiler , stove, or fuel-burning appliance. (Always fit a carbon monoxide detector if you burn fuels indoors.) [7] Carbon dioxide : This gas is central to everyday life and isn't normally considered a pollutant: we all produce it when we breathe out and plants such as crops and trees need to "breathe" it in to grow. However, carbon dioxide is also a greenhouse gas released by engines and power plants. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, it's been building up in Earth's atmosphere and contributing to the problem of global warming and climate change . [8] Nitrogen oxides : Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and nitrogen oxide (NO) are pollutants produced as an indirect result of combustion, when nitrogen and oxygen from the air react together. Nitrogen oxide pollution comes from vehicle engines and power plants, and plays an important role in the formation of acid rain, ozone and smog. Nitrogen oxides are also "indirect greenhouse gases" (they contribute to global warming by producing ozone, which is a greenhouse gas). [9] Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) : These carbon-based (organic) chemicals evaporate easily at ordinary temperatures and pressures, so they readily become gases. That's precisely why they're used as solvents in many different household chemicals such as paints , waxes, and varnishes. Unfortunately, they're also a form of air pollution: they're believed to have long-term (chronic) effects on people's health and they play a role in the formation of ozone and smog. VOCs are also released by tobacco smoke and wildfires. [10] Particulates : There are many different kinds of particulates, from black soot in diesel exhaust to dust and organic matter from the desert. Airborne liquid droplets from farm pollution also count as particulates. Particulates of different sizes are often referred to by the letters PM followed by a number, so PM 10 means soot particles of less than 10 microns (10 millionths of a meter or 10µm in diameter, roughly 10 times thinner than a thick human hair). The smaller ("finer") the particulates, the deeper they travel into our lungs and the more dangerous they are. PM 2.5 particulates are much more dangerous (they're less than 2.5 millionths of a meter or about 40 times thinner than a typical hair). In cities, most particulates come from traffic fumes. [11] Ozone : Also called trioxygen, this is a type of oxygen gas whose molecules are made from three oxygen atoms joined together (so it has the chemical formula O 3 ), instead of just the two atoms in conventional oxygen (O 2 ). In the stratosphere (upper atmosphere), a band of ozone ("the ozone layer") protects us by screening out harmful ultraviolet radiation (high-energy blue light) beaming down from the Sun. At ground level, it's a toxic pollutant that can damage health. It forms when sunlight strikes a cocktail of other pollution and is a key ingredient of smog (see box below). [12] Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) : Once thought to be harmless, these gases were widely used in refrigerators and aerosol cans until it was discovered that they damaged Earth's ozone layer. We discuss this in more detail down below. [13] Unburned hydrocarbons : Petroleum and other fuels are made of organic compounds based on chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. When they burn properly, they're completely converted into harmless carbon dioxide and water ; when they burn incompletely, they can release carbon monoxide or float into the air in their unburned form, contributing to smog. Lead and heavy metals : Lead and other toxic "heavy metals" can be spread into the air either as toxic compounds or as aerosols (when solids or liquids are dispersed through gases and carried through the air by them) in such things as exhaust fumes and the fly ash (contaminated waste dust) from incinerator smokestacks. [14] What are the causes of air pollution?

Photo: Even in the age of electric cars, traffic remains a major cause of air pollution. Photo by Warren Gretz courtesy of US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (NREL photo id#46361).

Photo: Brown smog lingers over Denver, Colorado. Photo by Warren Gretz courtesy of US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (NREL photo id#56919).

Chart: Most of the world's major cities routinely exceed World Health Organization (WHO) air pollution guidelines, though progress is being made: you can see that the 2022 figures (green) show a marked improvement on the 2016 ones (orange) in almost every case. This chart compares annual mean PM 2.5 levels in 12 representative cities around the world with the recently revised (2021) WHO guideline value of 5μg per cubic meter (dotted line). PM 2.5 particulates are those smaller than 2.5 microns and believed to be most closely linked with adverse health effects. For more about this chart and the data sources used, see note [22] .

Photo: Smokestacks billowing pollution over Moscow, Russia in 1994. Factory pollution is much less of a problem than it used to be in the world's "richer" countries—partly because a lot of their industry has been exported to nations such as China, India, and Mexico. Photo by Roger Taylor courtesy of US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) .

What effects does air pollution have?

Photo: Air pollution can cause a variety of lung diseases and other respiratory problems. This chest X ray shows a lung disease called emphysema in the patient's left lung. A variety of things can cause it, including smoking and exposure to air pollution. Photo courtesy of National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Institutes of Health.

" In 2016, 91% of the world population was living in places where the WHO air quality guidelines levels were not met." World Health Organization , 2018

Photo: For many years, the stonework on the Parthenon in Athens, Greece has been blackened by particulates from traffic pollution, but other sources of pollution, such as wood-burning stoves, are increasingly significant. Photo by Michael M. Reddy courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey .

How air pollution works on different scales

Indoor air pollution.

Photo: Air freshener—or air polluter?

Further reading

Acid rain—a closer look.

Photo: Acid rain can turn lakes so acidic that fish no longer survive. Picture courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Public Affairs. Why does that matter? Pure water is neither acidic nor alkaline but completely neutral (we say it has an acidity level or pH of 7.0). Ordinary rainwater is a little bit more acidic than this with about the same acidity as bananas (roughly pH 5.5), but if rain falls through sulfur dioxide pollution it can turn much more acidic (with a pH of 4.5 or lower, which is the same acidity as orange or lemon juice). When acid rain accumulates in lakes or rivers, it gradually turns the entire water more acidic. That's a real problem because fish thrive only in water that is neutral or slightly acidic (typically with a pH of 6.5–7.0). Once the acidity drops below about pH 6.0, fish soon start to die—and if the pH drops to about 4.0 or less, all the fish will be killed. Acid rain has caused major problems in lakes throughout North America and Europe. It also causes the death of forests, reduces the fertility of soil, and damages buildings by eating away stonework (the marble on the US Capitol in Washington, DC has been eroded by acid-rain, for example). One of the biggest difficulties in tackling acid rain is that it can happen over very long distances. In one notable case, sulfur dioxide air pollution produced by power plants in the UK was blamed for causing acid rain that fell on Scandinavian countries such as Norway, producing widespread damage to forests and the deaths of thousands of fish in acidified lakes. The British government refused to acknowledge the problem and that was partly why the UK became known as the "dirty man of Europe" in the 1980s and 1990s. [18] Acid rain was a particular problem in the last 30–40 years of the 20th century. Thanks to the decline in coal-fired power plants, and the sulfur dioxide they spewed out, it's less of a problem for western countries today. But it's still a big issue in places like India, where coal remains a major source of energy. Global air pollution It's hard to imagine doing anything so dramatic and serious that it would damage our entire, enormous planet—but, remarkable though it may seem, we all do things like this everyday, contributing to problems such as global warming and the damage to the ozone layer (two separate issues that are often confused). Global warming Every time you ride in a car, turn on the lights, switch on your TV , take a shower, microwave a meal, or use energy that's come from burning a fossil fuel such as oil, coal, or natural gas, you're almost certainly adding to the problem of global warming and climate change: unless it's been produced in some environmentally friendly way, the energy you're using has most likely released carbon dioxide gas into the air. While it's not an obvious pollutant, carbon dioxide has gradually built up in the atmosphere, along with other chemicals known as greenhouse gases . Together, these gases act a bit like a blanket surrounding our planet that is slowly making the mean global temperature rise, causing the climate (the long-term pattern of our weather) to change, and producing a variety of different effects on the natural world, including rising sea levels. Read more in our main article about global warming and climate change . Ozone holes

How can we solve the problem of air pollution?

Photo: Pollution solution: an electrostatic smoke precipitator helps to prevent air pollution from this smokestack at the McNeil biomass power plant in Burlington, VT. Photo by Warren Gretz courtesy of US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

What can you do to help reduce air pollution?

Photo: Buying organic food reduces the use of sprayed pesticides and other chemicals, so it helps to reduce air (as well as water) pollution.

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• Climate change and global warming
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• Breathless: Why Air Pollution Matters—and How it Affects You by Chris Woodford. Icon, 2021. My new book explores the problem in much more depth than I've been able to go into here. You can also read a bonus chapter called Angels with dirty faces: How air pollution blackens our buildings and monuments .
• The Invisible Killer: The Rising Global Threat of Air Pollution and How We Can Fight Back by Gary Fuller. Melville House, 2018.
• Reducing Pollution and Waste by Jen Green. Raintree/Capstone, 2011. A 48-page introduction for ages 9–12. The emphasis here is on getting children to think about pollution: where it comes from, who makes it, and who should solve the problem.
• Pollution Crisis by Russ Parker. Rosen, 2009. A 32-page guide for ages 8–10. It starts with a global survey of the problem; looks at air, water, and land pollution; then considers how we all need to be part of the solution.
• Earth Matters by Lynn Dicks et al. Dorling Kindersley, 2008. This isn't specifically about pollution. Instead, it explores how a range of different environmental problems are testing life to the limit in the planet's major biomes (oceans, forests, and so on). I wrote the section of this book that covers the polar regions.
• State of Global Air : One of the best sources of global air pollution data.
• American Lung Association: State of the Air Report : A good source of data about the United States.
• European Environment Agency: Air quality in Europe : A definitive overview of the situation in the European countries.
• World Health Organization (WHO) Ambient (outdoor) air pollution in cities database : A spreadsheet of pollution data for most major cities in the world (a little out of date, but a new version is expected soon).
• Our World in Data : Accessible guides to global data from Oxford University.
• The New York Times Topics: Air Pollution
• The Guardian: Pollution
• Wired: Pollution
• 'Invisible killer': fossil fuels caused 8.7m deaths globally in 2018, research finds by Oliver Milman. The Guardian, February 9, 2021. Pollution of various kinds causes something like one in five of all deaths.
• Millions of masks distributed to students in 'gas chamber' Delhi : BBC News, 1 November 2019.
• 90% of world's children are breathing toxic air, WHO study finds by Matthew Taylor. The Guardian, October 29, 2018. The air pollution affecting billions of children could continue to harm their health throughout their lives.
• Pollution May Dim Thinking Skills, Study in China Suggests by Mike Ives. The New York Times, August 29, 2018. Long-term exposure to air pollution seems to cause a decline in cognitive skills.
• Global pollution kills 9m a year and threatens 'survival of human societies' by Damian Carrington. The Guardian, October 19, 2017. Air, water, and land pollution kill millions, cost trillions, and threaten the very survival of humankind, a new study reveals.
• India's Air Pollution Rivals China's as World's Deadliest by Geeta Anand. The New York Times, February 14, 2017. High levels of pollution could be killing 1.1 million Indians each year.
• More Than 9 in 10 People Breathe Bad Air, WHO Study Says by Mike Ives. The New York Times, September 27, 2016. New WHO figures suggest the vast majority of us are compromising our health by breathing bad air.
• Study Links 6.5 Million Deaths Each Year to Air Pollution by Stanley Reed. The New York Times, June 26, 2016. Air pollution deaths are far greater than previously supposed according to a new study by the International Energy Agency.
• UK air pollution 'linked to 40,000 early deaths a year' by Michelle Roberts, BBC News, February 23, 2016. Diesel engines, cigarette smoke, and even air fresheners are among the causes of premature death from air pollution.
• This Wearable Detects Pollution to Build Air Quality Maps in Real Time by Davey Alba. Wired, November 19, 2014. A wearable pollution gadget lets people track their exposure to air pollution through a smartphone app.
• Air pollution and public health: emerging hazards and improved understanding of risk by Frank J. Kelly and Julia C. Fussell, Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 2015
• Health effects of fine particulate air pollution: lines that connect by C.A. Pope and D.W. Dockery. Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, 2006
• Ambient and household air pollution: complex triggers of disease by Stephen A. Farmer et al, Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, 2014

Text copyright © Chris Woodford 2010, 2022. All rights reserved. Full copyright notice and terms of use .

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Air pollution, explained

Pollutants in the air aren't always visible and come from many different sources.

Despite decades of progress, the air quality in the United States has started to decline over the past few years, according to data provided in summer 2019 by the Environmental Protection Agency . The agency recorded 15 percent more days with unhealthy air in the country in 2018 and 2017 compared to the average from 2013 to 2016.

The reasons for the recent decline in air quality remain unclear, says the agency, but may be related to high numbers of wildfires , a warming climate, and increasing human consumption patterns driven by population growth and a strong economy. The long-term outlook also remains unclear, even as politicians debate air pollution standards.

What is air pollution?

Air pollution is a mix of particles and gases that can reach harmful concentrations both outside and indoors. Its effects can range from higher disease risks to rising temperatures. Soot, smoke, mold, pollen, methane, and carbon dioxide are a just few examples of common pollutants.

In the U.S., one measure of outdoor air pollution is the Air Quality Index, or AQI which rates air conditions across the country based on concentrations of five major pollutants: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (or particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Some of those also contribute to indoor air pollution , along with radon, cigarette smoke, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, asbestos, and other substances.

A global health hazard

Poor air quality kills people. Worldwide, bad outdoor air caused an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths in 2016 , about 90 percent of them in low- and middle-income countries, according to the World Health Organization. Indoor smoke is an ongoing health threat to the 3 billion people who cook and heat their homes by burning biomass, kerosene, and coal. Air pollution has been linked to higher rates of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and respiratory diseases such as asthma. In   the U.S. nearly 134 million people—over 40 percent of the population—are at risk of disease and premature death because of air pollution, according to American Lung Association estimates .

While those effects emerge from long-term exposure, air pollution can also cause short-term problems such as sneezing and coughing, eye irritation, headaches, and dizziness. Particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometers (classified as PM 10 and the even smaller PM 2.5 ) pose higher health risks because they can be breathed deeply into the lungs and may cross into the bloodstream.

Air pollutants cause less-direct health effects when they contribute to climate change . Heat waves, extreme weather, food supply disruptions, and other effects related to increased greenhouse gases can have negative impacts on human health. The U.S. Fourth National Climate Assessment released in 2018 noted, for example, that a changing climate "could expose more people in North America to ticks that carry Lyme disease and mosquitoes that transmit viruses such as West Nile, chikungunya, dengue, and Zika."

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Environmental impacts.

Though many living things emit carbon dioxide when they breathe, the gas is widely considered to be a pollutant when associated with cars, planes, power plants, and other human activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline and natural gas. That's because carbon dioxide is the most common of the greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. Humans have pumped enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the past 150 years to raise its levels higher than they have been for hundreds of thousands of years .

Other greenhouse gases include methane —which comes from such sources as landfills, the natural gas industry, and gas emitted by livestock —and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants until they were banned in the late 1980s because of their deteriorating effect on Earth's ozone layer.

Another pollutant associated with climate change is sulfur dioxide, a component of smog. Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals are known primarily as a cause of acid rain . But they also reflect light when released in the atmosphere, which keeps sunlight out and creates a cooling effect. Volcanic eruptions can spew massive amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, sometimes causing cooling that lasts for years. In fact, volcanoes used to be the main source of atmospheric sulfur dioxide; today, people are.

Airborne particles, depending on their chemical makeup, can also have direct effects separate from climate change. They can change or deplete nutrients in soil and waterways, harm forests and crops, and damage cultural icons such as monuments and statues.

What can be done?

Countries around the world are tackling various forms of air pollution. China, for example, is making strides in cleaning up smog-choked skies from years of rapid industrial expansion, partly by closing or canceling coal-fired power plants. In the U.S., California has been a leader in setting emissions standards aimed at improving air quality, especially in places like famously hazy Los Angeles. And a variety of efforts aim to bring cleaner cooking options to places where hazardous cookstoves are prevalent.

In any home, people can safeguard against indoor air pollution by increasing ventilation, testing for radon gas, using air purifiers, running kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans, and avoiding smoking. When working on home projects, look for paint and other products low in volatile organic compounds: organizations such as Green Seal , UL (GREENGUARD) , and the U.S. Green Building Council can help.

To curb global warming, a variety of measures need to be taken , such as adding more renewable energy and replacing gasoline-fueled cars with zero-emissions vehicles such as electric ones. On a larger scale, governments at all levels are making commitments to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The Paris Agreement , ratified on November 4, 2016, is one effort to combat climate change on a global scale. And the Kigali Amendment seeks to further the progress made by the Montreal Protocol , banning heat-trapping hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in addition to CFCs.

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Air Pollution Effects on the Health and Environment Essay

According to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, there are six principal air pollutants, the excess of which critically affects the health, lifestyle, and welfare of the population. They are carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particle pollution, and sulfur dioxide. Increasing the level of each of them will most likely have critical consequences, and should be regulated by governmental services. Still, to my mind, the priority should be given to the regulation of particle pollution as the most dangerous issue.

Particle pollution or “Particulate matter,” PM, is an effect caused by contamination of air by the particles of different origin. They might be dust, small droplets of nitric and sulfuric acids, coal and metal particles, organic chemicals, etc. The particles are subdivided into two groups. The size of “inhalable coarse particles” lies within the range of 2.5 and 10 micrometers (“The United States Environmental Protection Agency: Particulate Matter” par. 3). “Fine particles” are 2.5 micrometers and smaller (“The United States Environmental Protection Agency: Particulate Matter” par. 4). The particles are majorly concentrated along the roadways and in the areas of dusty industries. Forest fires, being a significant issue recently all over the U.S., are a substantial source of PM (Langmann et al. 109). Gas emissions from cars, industries, and power plants also contribute to particle pollution.

The level of particle pollution is regulated both by primary and secondary standards, meaning that high levels of PM will affect both sensitive categories of people and the welfare such as animals, crops, and buildings. The health dangers lay within lungs and heart disease that might cause death, as well as asthma, heart attacks, respiratory symptoms, etc. In general, 500,000 deaths occur due to particle pollution annually (Nel, 804). The damage to welfare and environment can be described as contamination of water bodies with acids, affecting the nutrient balance of soils and coastal waters, destroying forests and crops. Acid rains “resulted by sulfur oxides transformation into acids, especially sulfuric acid, besides causing leaf burns, contribute to the acidity increase of naturally acid soils and to lowering the buffering capacity of base saturated top soils” (Lacatusu, Cimpeanu and Lungu 818) are also the result of particle pollution. PM can also cause discomfort and danger, conducting a reduction of visibility.

The factor that demonstrates the extreme danger and the priority of dealing with an issue of particle pollutions is that its standard was reviewed in 2012 the latest date if compare to revisions of other major pollutants (“The United States Environmental Protection Agency: National Ambient Air Quality Standards” par.3). The general recommendations to reduce particle pollution on the household level include not to burn leaves, use the energy sources thoughtfully, avoid using fireplaces and dust-producing devices. These measures are high, but some more effective means should be provided on the state level. They might be introducing the policy of power plants emission reduction by providing more environmental-friendly technologies. This also refers to encouraging using a vehicle with low rates of dangerous emissions. The practice of short-term air pollution forecasts and the regulation of the industrial and household emissions in the area, based on those forecasts (Berlyand 12), seems to be a good idea. The policy of forest fires prevention also should be improved.

Particle pollution is one of the major issues affecting the environment all over the United States. As is, it occurs due to industrial problems and natural catastrophes and might result in drastic consequences for the population’s health and welfare; the environmental policy should be reviewed to reduce the rates of pollution.

Works Cited

Berlyand, M. E. Prediction and regulation of air pollution . Vol. 14. Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. Print.

Lacatusu, Radu, Carmen Cimpeanu, Mihaela Lungu. “Soil pollution by acid rains and heavy metals in Zlatna region, Romania.” Sustaining the Global Farm, Purdue University (2001): 817-820. Print.

Langmann, Bärbel, Bryan Duncan, Christiane Textor, Jörg Trentmann, Guido R. vander Werf. “Vegetation fire emissions and their impact on air pollution and climate.” Atmospheric Environment 43.1 (2009): 107-116. Print.

Nel, André. “Air pollution-related illness: effects of particles.” Science 308.5723 (2005): 804-806. Print.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency: National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 2015. Web.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency: Particulate Matter (PM) 2015. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2024, March 6). Air Pollution Effects on the Health and Environment. https://ivypanda.com/essays/air-pollution-effects-on-the-health-and-environment/

"Air Pollution Effects on the Health and Environment." IvyPanda , 6 Mar. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/air-pollution-effects-on-the-health-and-environment/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Air Pollution Effects on the Health and Environment'. 6 March.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Air Pollution Effects on the Health and Environment." March 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/air-pollution-effects-on-the-health-and-environment/.

1. IvyPanda . "Air Pollution Effects on the Health and Environment." March 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/air-pollution-effects-on-the-health-and-environment/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Air Pollution Effects on the Health and Environment." March 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/air-pollution-effects-on-the-health-and-environment/.

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Essay on Air Pollution for Students: Check Samples of 100 Words to 250 Words

• Updated on  
• Mar 30, 2024

Essay on Air Pollution : Invisible but insidious, air pollution silently infiltrates our lives, impacting health, the environment, and future generations. Through this blog, let’s explore its roots, repercussions, and remedies, which are essential in our quest for cleaner, healthier skies. Essay writing here becomes more crucial, to raise awareness about air pollution’s dire consequences and drive action for cleaner air.

Table of Contents

• 1 10-Line Essay on Air Pollution
• 2 What are the Causes of Air Pollution?
• 3 What are the effects of Air Pollution?
• 4 Essay on Air Pollution: How to Tackle Air Pollution?
• 5 Essay on Air Pollution Sample (100 Words)
• 6 Essay on Air Pollution Sample (250 Words)

Must Read: Essay On Environment

10-Line Essay on Air Pollution

Below mentioned is a 10-lined essay on air pollution:

• Air pollution is caused by harmful substances known as pollutants.
• The pollutant come from various sources, like vehicle gasses, forest fires, and other human activities.
• The two of the biggest sources of air pollution are burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
• Air pollution is harmful to humans because it can cause skin and respiratory diseases.
• Air pollution is equally harmful to plants and animals.
• Air pollution can also damage non-living things, such as ancient monuments constructed from marbles and limestone.
• Air pollution leads to ozone layer depletion, climate change and global warming.
• Air pollution can damage ecosystems in forests.
• We must take effective steps to reduce air pollution.
• We can reduce air pollution by planting more trees and burning less fossil fuels.

What are the Causes of Air Pollution?

Air pollution is caused by various factors, including:

• Industrial Emissions: Factories and manufacturing processes release pollutants like chemicals and particulate matter into the air.
• Vehicle Emissions: Combustion engines in cars, trucks, and aeroplanes emit exhaust gases, including carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.
• Burning Fossil Fuels: The use of coal, oil, and natural gas for energy generation and heating releases pollutants and greenhouse gases.
• Agricultural Activities: Pesticides and fertilizers release chemicals, while livestock emit methane.
• Deforestation: Cutting down trees reduces the planet’s capacity to absorb pollutants.
• Waste Disposal: Improper disposal of waste leads to the release of harmful substances into the air.
• Natural Sources: Volcanic eruptions, dust storms, and wildfires can also contribute to air pollution.

What are the effects of Air Pollution?

Air pollution poses severe health and environmental risks. Short-term exposure can lead to respiratory issues, eye irritation, and exacerbation of pre-existing conditions. Long-term exposure is linked to chronic diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disorders. 

Additionally, air pollution harms ecosystems, causing acid rain, damaging vegetation, and polluting water bodies. It also contributes to climate change by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Addressing air pollution is crucial to safeguard human health and protecting the planet’s ecosystems and climate.

Essay on Air Pollution: How to Tackle Air Pollution?

Addressing air pollution is paramount for a healthier planet. By curbing emissions, adopting clean technologies, and fostering sustainable practices, we can safeguard our environment and public health. Here are some key points on how to tackle air pollution:

• Reduce Vehicle Emissions:
• Improve Industrial Practices
• Increase Green Spaces
• Monitor and Regulate
• Reduce Indoor Air Pollution
• Promote Renewable Energy
• Encourage Sustainable Practices
• Raise Public Awareness:
• Reduce Open Burning:
• International Cooperation:

Tackling air pollution requires a multi-faceted approach involving government policies, community engagement, and individual responsibility.

Must Read: Essay On Global Warming

Essay on Air Pollution Sample (100 Words)

Air pollution is a pressing environmental issue with far-reaching consequences. It occurs when harmful substances, such as particulate matter and toxic gases, contaminate the atmosphere. These pollutants result from various sources, including industrial emissions, vehicular exhaust, and agricultural activities.

The consequences of air pollution are severe, impacting both human health and the environment. Prolonged exposure to polluted air can lead to respiratory diseases, cardiovascular issues, and even premature death. Additionally, air pollution harms ecosystems, leading to reduced crop yields and biodiversity loss.

Mitigating air pollution requires collective efforts, including stricter emission regulations, cleaner energy sources, and promoting public awareness. By addressing this issue, we can safeguard our health and preserve the environment for future generations.

Essay on Air Pollution Sample (250 Words)

Air pollution is a pressing global issue that affects the health and well-being of people and the environment. It occurs when harmful substances, such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, are released into the atmosphere. This pollution can have dire consequences for both humans and the planet.

First and foremost, air pollution poses a significant threat to human health. Particulate matter and toxic gases can enter the respiratory system, leading to various respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis. Long-term exposure to polluted air has also been linked to cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and premature death. Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions are at higher risk.

Additionally, air pollution has adverse effects on the environment. It contributes to climate change by increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to rising global temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events. Moreover, pollutants can harm ecosystems, contaminate water bodies, and damage crops, impacting food security.

The sources of air pollution are diverse, including industrial processes, transportation, agriculture, and energy production. To combat this problem, governments, industries, and individuals must take collective action. Implementing stricter emission standards for vehicles and industrial facilities, transitioning to cleaner energy sources, and promoting public transportation are essential steps in reducing air pollution.

In conclusion, air pollution is a critical issue that affects human health and the environment. Its detrimental effects on respiratory health and its contributions to climate change necessitate urgent action. By adopting sustainable practices and reducing emissions, we can mitigate the impact of air pollution and create a healthier and more sustainable future for all.

Related Reads:-     

Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials.

To prevent air pollution, reduce vehicle emissions by using public transport, carpooling, or opting for electric vehicles. Promote clean energy sources like wind and solar power. Implement strict industrial emissions standards. Encourage reforestation and green spaces. Educate the public about responsible waste disposal and advocate for clean energy policies.

We hope this blog gave you an idea about how to write and present an essay on air pollution that put forth your opinions. The skill of writing an essay comes in handy when appearing for standardized language tests. Thinking of taking one soon? Leverage Edu provides the best online test prep for the same via Leverage Live . Register today to know more!

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Essay on Air Pollution: Types, Causes & Effects of Air Pollution

March 10, 2021 by Sandeep

Air Pollution Essay: Air Pollution can be defined as the presence of toxic substances in the air in such a concentration that can be hazardous to humans and their surroundings. These toxic particles are commonly known as pollutants; out of these pollutants, oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur are particularly harmful.

Essay on Air Pollution in 500 Words

Below we have provided Air Pollution Essay in English, suitable for class 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 school students. This essay is drafted in easy and simple language.

Air Pollution is an environmental issue that poses a huge threat to billions of organisms surviving on our planet. It has been increasing at an alarming rate with an increase in the concentration of pollutants. The contamination of air by these hazardous pollutants has disrupted the natural balance in our environment. The quality of life has reduced.

Causes of Air Pollution

Two primary phenomena cause air pollution. One of them is the natural phenomenon that comprises volcanic eruptions, wildfires, radioactive elements, and volatile organic compounds. The other most crucial cause is human activity. With the increase in the number of industries, the contamination in the air automatically increases. Fuels and chemicals utilized in factories, mills, and industries release harmful chemicals to the atmosphere. These are organic compounds, gases, particulate matter, ash, and other volatile substances.

Chlorofluorocarbons, also known as CFCs, are another potent reason for air pollution. These chemicals get released from leaky refrigerants, spray tins, burning plastics and various other sources. They deplete the ozone layer and allow harmful UV rays to enter our atmosphere. This, in turn, causes serious illnesses. It is also responsible for smog in urban cities. Smog impairs visibility and can lead to accidents.

Carbon dioxide solely accounts for almost 57 percent of the air pollution. Greenhouse gases and Carbon dioxide together contribute to global warming . They also cause acid rains which are harmful to plants and man-made objects like ancient monuments.

Effects of Air Pollution

With the air quality deteriorating, our future is at stake. Increasing pollution can cause serious health hazards like cancer and cardiovascular issues. Children suffer from bronchitis and pneumonia. Irritation of the nose and throat, asthma attacks, pulmonary diseases are all outcomes of air pollution. Another significant effect of pollution is extreme climate change. Disrupting food chains, extinction of species, depleting the ozone layer are some of the grave issues we face today.

Control of Air Pollution

The Air Pollution Act forbids power sectors and high-scale industries from releasing particulate matter beyond a certain level. Chimneys, Electrostatic precipitators, and filters must be implanted to lessen the damage caused by the emissions.

People must be made aware of the grave conditions of air pollution. The government has taken a huge step to sensitize people regarding the consequences of pollution. We must do our part as well. Using the means of public transport will ensure less number of vehicles. Lesser vehicles mean lesser emission of pollutants.

Planting more and more trees can help solve this crisis. Reforestation in mining areas is also an effective step. Conservation of energy is of prime importance. Renewable energy sources like solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric power, and natural gas must be utilized. We must avoid burning dry leaves at our homes and must indulge in the habit of composting.

The implementation of Eco-friendly methods will ensure a cleaner and healthier environment. LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas), CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), and Biogas are some Eco-friendly substitutes of fuels. Together, we must strive to bring a change. Our efforts matter because they will bring in much-needed change. After all, everyone wants to live on a healthy planet.

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Air Pollution Essay for Students in English: 100, 200 and 500 Words

Air pollution is becoming a serious issue that’s affecting human health, flora and fauna and overall well-being of Earth. As responsible citizens of the world, it’s our duty to take care of anything that’s harming the planet and leave it in better condition for future generations. Here are a few sample essays children can use to write about air pollution and learn about different ways to mitigate this crisis.

100 Words Essay on Air Pollution

200 words essay on air pollution, 500 words essay on air pollution.

Any physical, chemical, or biological alteration in the air is referred to as air pollution. The atmosphere contains a specific portion of the gas. It is harmful to survival to change the makeup of these gases. “Global warming” is the term used to describe the rise in global temperature caused by this imbalance in gas composition. Hazardous pollutants, whether present naturally or artificially, can modify the environment and have a negative impact on the ecosystem. Ineffective resource management and reckless human activity are harming the environment and therefore it is our responsibility as inhabitants of Earth to take care of it.

Pollution is any activity that tampers with the environment's fundamental characteristics and causes damage. The air we breathe is no longer clean and fresh, it has been contaminated by pollutants. The threat to Earth and its ecosystem is getting worse as a result of the contamination of the air, water, and soil. These pollutants are causing a number of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases—our immune system is getting affected negatively, and children are at a high risk of developing asthma and other breathing problems. There are numerous factors that frequently increase this air pollution. Automobiles, transportation methods, industrialization, expanding cities, etc. are the main causes of air pollution. The contamination of the entire atmosphere is brought on by the release of various toxic gases or dangerous components from such sources.

Air pollution, which has a negative impact on the environment, also has a significant impact on the ozone layer. The primary contributor to pollution is the ever-increasing demands of the human population. Daily human activities pump harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, making it more polluted than ever and accelerating climate change. The flora and fauna are also being severely impacted by the airborne harmful chemical releases. The rising contamination of the Earth's air, water, and soil—the essential life support systems of the planet—poses a major threat to the planet and its environment.

One of today's top environmental concerns is air pollution. There are numerous factors that frequently increase this air pollution. Toxic gases, particulates, paint, and batteries containing lead are released throughout the industrialization process. The ozone layer is also being destroyed and the world is being exposed to dangerous solar rays as a result of all the contaminants in touch with the atmosphere.

Ozone is a contaminant that exists at the ground level and can be harmful to human health. But the same ozone creates a layer of defence in the stratosphere. The "good" ozone, however, is being destroyed by ozone-depleting substances—such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and chlorofluorocarbons. These chemicals were once used in coolants, foaming agents, insecticides, solvents, and fire extinguishers and occasionally still are.

Primary and secondary pollutants are the two categories that have emerged as a result of the growing number of air pollutants. Primary pollutants, which include smoke, ash, dust, fumes, mist, spray, inorganic gases, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and radioactive substances, have a direct negative impact on fresh air. Secondary pollutants are those that interact chemically with primary pollutants, as well as other elements in the atmosphere, such as sulphate trioxide, ozone, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen dioxide.

Causes of Air Pollution

The disposal of solid wastes that release methane gas and the breakdown of trash landfills are major sources of air pollution. This problem has become a severe environmental and health issue as a result of the population's rapid development, industrialisation, and greater use of cars, planes, and other transportation.

Common Effects of Air Pollution

Pollutants in the air we breathe every minute enter our bloodstream and travel to our lungs and entire body, producing a plethora of health issues. Animals can have health issues similar to people if they are exposed to air toxics in high enough quantities over an extended period of time. Air toxics also play a role in animal sickness, infertility, and birth abnormalities. Therefore, both directly and indirectly, pollution of the environment harms both plants, animals, and people.

What Can We Do

Using public transportation is a surefire short method to reduce air pollution because it uses less gas and electricity, even carpools help with the situation. A permanent, non-polluting, and extremely secure source of energy is the sun or solar power. Solar panels, which are special in design and simple to install, are also a technical benefit to society and the planet. They take in solar energy and store it to power various equipment and electronics. Another step you can take on this path is to plant more trees and live a simplistic life. Minimalist living is not only a trendy millennial lifestyle, but it also has significant societal and environmental benefits.

Air pollution may reach one million tonnes annually in the next decades if environmental protection measures are not taken seriously and effectively enforced. We need to drastically alter our everyday routines if we want to lower the level of air pollution. By making better use of raw materials, water energy, and other resources, we can reduce pollution. Human health can be safeguarded and economic wellbeing can be increased when less harmful compounds are exchanged for hazardous ones.

You may also like:

• Types of Pollution Essay
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Essay on Air Pollution – Causes, Effects, Solutions, Conclusion

Category: Essays and Paragraphs On November 20, 2018 By Aparna

Air Pollution

The whole world has been suffering from lots of problems since its existence, and the problems are getting bigger and bigger day by days.

One of the biggest problems that the entire planet faces is the amount of pollution on the planet. Pollution is of several kinds, but the pollution that affects the most to our nature and environment is Air pollution .

Air pollution is the pollution in which the pollutants get released in the air, and those pollutants then pollute the air which affects the health of a human being.

Air pollution is the pollution when the dirt, dirt particles and other kinds of pollutants get mixed to air and make the air polluted.

Today, every city in the world is suffering from air pollution , and that is why a lot of people and organizations in the world are trying their best to save the world from air pollution.

Air Pollution in India

Indian cities are much polluted and that can get seen from various visuals. Land and air pollution are connected directly as if the land is dirty, after a few days, that dirty land will lead to air pollution. In India, there are only a few surfaces where the pollution level is less. For example, the pollution level in Chandigarh city is lesser than a lot of cities in India. However, the pollution level in various cities of NCR, UP and Bihar is way higher than a lot of cities in India. The air pollution in India is getting increased day by day. But, the good news is that the people who had no interest in cleaning their country before, are now getting involved in schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, etc.

There are lots of causes of air pollution in the world and here are a few of those causes:

• The burning of fossil fuels is the biggest cause of air pollution, and that is why it has been prohibited at a lot of places in the world.
• Cars, buses, motorbikes are another big cause of air pollution because they emit a lot of pollution also.
• Volcano eruptions are another big cause of air pollution.
• When we cook at home, sometimes we need wood and charcoal for it, and these materials cause a huge amount of air pollution.
• People smoking cigarettes is another big cause of air pollution.
• If due to some reason a forest catches fire , then it becomes one of the biggest reasons for air pollution.

These are a few effects on human beings, plants, and animals due to air pollution:

• The rainwater flows through the surface and ends in the river, and when the surface gets polluted, all the rainwater will take the polluted surface particles with itself which will not only pollute the river, but it will also pollute the land through which the water flows .
• A lot of people suffer from allergies which are a side effect of living in an air-polluted
• Air pollution can also lead to severe diseases like cancer, heart diseases, and other respiratory problems, etc.
• One should restrict the use of charcoal , wood, thus the pollution caused by these resources would not be there in the world.
• A restriction should be there on industries to use the kind of materials which causes zero to no air pollution at all.
• The cities which have the maximum air pollution should get asked as to how they will reduce the air pollution and what are their plans for it.

Air pollution is a huge problem not only in India but the whole world, various organizations do their bit to make sure that plans are made to restrict air pollution , but unfortunately those plans never get executed rightly. That is why even after knowing that the air is getting polluted every day, the organizations around the world are unable to provide a good solution to it. As a human being, we must contribute, that is why, we need to gather and make sure that all the places, suffering from air pollution, should get organized in a manner so that air pollution should not exist. Everyone should participate in schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which will not only reduce the air pollution in the country but will also reduce various other kinds of pollution.

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• Biology Article

Air Pollution Control

Air pollution & its control, air pollution definition.

“Air Pollution is the release of pollutants such as gases, particles, biological molecules, etc. into the air that is harmful to human health and the environment.”

Air Pollution Diagram

Table of Contents

What is Air Pollution?

Types of air pollutants, primary pollutants, secondary pollutants, causes of air pollution.

Air pollution refers to any physical, chemical or biological change in the air. It is the contamination of air by harmful gases, dust and smoke which affects plants, animals and humans drastically.

There is a certain percentage of gases present in the atmosphere. An increase or decrease in the composition of these gases is harmful to survival. This imbalance in the gaseous composition has resulted in an increase in earth’s temperature, which is known as global warming.

There are two types of air pollutants:

The pollutants that directly cause air pollution are known as primary pollutants. Sulphur-dioxide emitted from factories is a primary pollutant.

The pollutants formed by the intermingling and reaction of primary pollutants are known as secondary pollutants. Smog, formed by the intermingling of smoke and fog, is a secondary pollutant.

Also Read:  Water Pollution

Following are the important causes of air pollution:

Burning of Fossil Fuels

The combustion of fossil fuels emits a large amount of sulphur dioxide. Carbon monoxide released by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels also results in air pollution.

Automobiles

The gases emitted from vehicles such as jeeps, trucks, cars, buses, etc. pollute the environment. These are the major sources of greenhouse gases and also result in diseases among individuals.

Agricultural Activities

Ammonia is one of the most hazardous gases emitted during agricultural activities. The insecticides, pesticides and fertilisers emit harmful chemicals in the atmosphere and contaminate it.

Factories and Industries

Factories and industries are the main source of carbon monoxide, organic compounds, hydrocarbons and chemicals. These are released into the air, degrading its quality.

Mining Activities

In the mining process, the minerals below the earth are extracted using large pieces of equipment. The dust and chemicals released during the process not only pollute the air, but also deteriorate the health of the workers and people living in the nearby areas.

Domestic Sources

The household cleaning products and paints contain toxic chemicals that are released in the air. The smell from the newly painted walls is the smell of the chemicals present in the paints. It not only pollutes the air but also affects breathing.

Effects of Air Pollution

The hazardous effects of air pollution on the environment include:

Air pollution has resulted in several respiratory disorders and heart diseases among humans. The cases of lung cancer have increased in the last few decades. Children living near polluted areas are more prone to pneumonia and asthma. Many people die every year due to the direct or indirect effects of air pollution.

Global Warming

Due to the emission of greenhouse gases, there is an imbalance in the gaseous composition of the air. This has led to an increase in the temperature of the earth. This increase in earth’s temperature is known as global warming . This has resulted in the melting of glaciers and an increase in sea levels. Many areas are submerged underwater.

The burning of fossil fuels releases harmful gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides in the air. The water droplets combine with these pollutants, become acidic and fall as acid rain which damages human, animal and plant life.

Ozone Layer Depletion

The release of chlorofluorocarbons, halons, and hydrochlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere is the major cause of depletion of the ozone layer. The depleting ozone layer does not prevent the harmful ultraviolet rays coming from the sun and causes skin diseases and eye problems among individuals. Also Read:  Ozone Layer Depletion

Effect on Animals

The air pollutants suspend in the water bodies and affect aquatic life. Pollution also compels the animals to leave their habitat and shift to a new place. This renders them stray and has also led to the extinction of a large number of animal species.

Following are the measures one should adopt, to control air pollution:

Avoid Using Vehicles

People should avoid using vehicles for shorter distances. Rather, they should prefer public modes of transport to travel from one place to another. This not only prevents pollution, but also conserves energy.

Energy Conservation

A large number of fossil fuels are burnt to generate electricity. Therefore, do not forget to switch off the electrical appliances when not in use. Thus, you can save the environment at the individual level. Use of energy-efficient devices such as CFLs also controls pollution to a greater level.

Use of Clean Energy Resources

The use of solar, wind and geothermal energies reduce air pollution at a larger level. Various countries, including India, have implemented the use of these resources as a step towards a cleaner environment.

Other air pollution control measures include:

• By minimising and reducing the use of fire and fire products.
• Since industrial emissions are one of the major causes of air pollution, the pollutants can be controlled or treated at the source itself to reduce its effects. For example, if the reactions of a certain raw material yield a pollutant, then the raw materials can be substituted with other less polluting materials.
• Fuel substitution is another way of controlling air pollution. In many parts of India, petrol and diesel are being replaced by CNG – Compressed Natural Gas fueled vehicles. These are mostly adopted by vehicles that aren’t fully operating with ideal emission engines.
• Although there are many practices in India, which focus on repairing the quality of air, most of them are either forgotten or not being enforced properly. There are still a lot of vehicles on roads which haven’t been tested for vehicle emissions.
• Another way of controlling air pollution caused by industries is to modify and maintain existing pieces of equipment so that the emission of pollutants is minimised.
• Sometimes controlling pollutants at the source is not possible. In that case, we can have process control equipment to control the pollution.
• A very effective way of controlling air pollution is by diluting the air pollutants.
• The last and the best way of reducing the ill effects of air pollution is tree plantation. Plants and trees reduce a large number of pollutants in the air. Ideally, planting trees in areas of high pollution levels will be extremely effective.

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Causes and Effects of Pollution

The environment people live in is affecting them, including health and lifestyle, and the nature around them, like plants, animals, water bodies, and the atmosphere. Environmental issues caused by humans using natural resources and treating nature with no respect have resulted in some negative changes. One of the most significant problems people are facing nowadays is pollution. It affects all the crucial elements for sustaining human life: water, air, and soil. The causes and effects of pollution are multiple and varied, and they should be examined closely to better understand this phenomenon.

General reasons for pollution include major emissions of carbon dioxide, as well as the chemicals produced as the result of the burning of fossil fuels. This happens because of different factories’ activity and their waste, which is being discharged into water, soil, and the atmosphere. Other than big manufacturing elements, pollution is caused by people individually. This involves emissions caused by cars, using much energy for different activities, and producing enormous amounts of waste, especially the types that are not decomposable or take hundreds of years to do so.

The first side of the environment impacted by pollution is the atmosphere. Air pollution can be defined as a combination of harmful gases or particles that accumulate in the air in unsafe quantities. The worsening air quality can result in multiple health issues, including “heart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases” (“Ambient (outdoor) air pollution,” 2018, para. 1). As air quality is measured around the world, many deficiencies are detected, which directly influence human life.

According to the World Health Organization data, in 2016, about 91 percent of the population inhabited places with unsatisfactory air quality (as cited in “Ambient (outdoor) air pollution,” 2018). Therefore, air pollution is affecting not only those living in big urban areas but is also spreading around the whole planet.

Water covers the majority of the planet, so water pollution is also a crucial problem. Wastewater and emission of fertilizers into water bodies cause water pollution, which can make water harmful to human consumption. Other than becoming undrinkable, contaminated water will affect or even kill aquatic creatures and plants, as well as transfer to crops, making them just as dangerous. The United Nations World Water Development Report stated that over 80 percent of wastewater is discharged back into the environment, not being appropriately treated (2017). Thus, not only do the major water bodies become largely polluted but the effect is also transferred to soil.

As a significant part of the food for humans and domestic animals is grown, polluted soil can also cause complications. Soil pollution occurs when certain toxic chemicals are gathered in large amounts. Soil can be affected by harmful substances as a result of industrial waste emission into the ground, contaminated water interacting with it, or excessive amounts of pesticides or fertilizers being used. As a result, plants and crops become dangerous for human consumption and can cause multiple health problems.

Pollution is a global phenomenon, causing much damage to the planet and harming people and other living creatures. It can manifest in different forms, but its impact is hugely detrimental. Seeking solutions for this problem is now one of the main agendas for the whole of humankind, which can only be done with combined efforts of government structures and community and individual actions. Only by being aware of this situation and taking measures for improvement will people be able to protect their health and create better conditions for future generations.

Ambient (outdoor) air pollution . (2018). Web.

The United Nations world water development report 2017. (2017). Web.

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131 million in U.S. live in areas with unhealthy pollution levels, lung association finds

Nearly 40% of people in the U.S. are living in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution and the country is backsliding on clean air progress as the effects of climate change intensify, according to a new report from the American Lung Association. 

The organization’s report — its 25th annual analysis of the “State of the Air” in the country — found that between 2020 and 2022, 131 million people were living in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution. The figure increased by nearly 12 million since the last survey a year ago. 

The report also found that people in the United States experienced more “very unhealthy” or “hazardous” air quality days than any time in the survey’s history. 

Katherine Pruitt, the national senior director for clean air policy at the American Lung Association, said climate change is chipping away at decades of cleanup efforts made through the Clean Air Act, a federal law passed in 1963 to regulate air pollution and set air quality standards. 

“The changes happening in our climate and with heat and drought, and especially wildfire, have started to undo some of that progress we’ve made,” Pruitt said. “It is distressing to find that so many people are living with air quality that threatens their health.” 

Wildfires are a fast-growing pollution source that policymakers are struggling to address. Climate scientists expect wildfire smoke to increase in the future, as greenhouse gas emissions push temperatures higher. The lung association’s analysis comes to the same conclusion as peer-reviewed research published last year in the journal Nature . Marshall Burke, an author of that study, suggested that wildfire smoke has undone about 25% of the Clean Air Act’s progress. 

“If we take some steps back and tell what the root cause is, it’s the burning of fossil fuels,” said Dr. Lisa Patel, a clinical associate professor who practices as a pediatrician at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. “We don’t need to be in this situation. We have the technology, we have the federal investment to get on renewables. What we need now is the political will.” 

Every year, the “State of the Air” report analyzes air quality data of the three previous years. The analysis focuses on ozone exposure and on short-term and year-round exposures to particle pollution. The report issues grades for each measure and then summarizes how many areas pass or fail for each grade. Nearly 44 million people now live in areas that failed at all three criteria, according to the report.

Small particles are a significant concern because they can penetrate into people’s lungs, circulate in the bloodstream and affect other organs. 

These particles, which are merely a fraction of the size of a human hair, have been shown to raise risk for asthma, lung cancer, chronic lung diseases, preterm birth and pregnancy loss. 

Patel, who is also the executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, said she has noticed an uptick in preterm births during periods of heavy wildfire events and has begun to counsel parents about how heat and smoke are a risk factor during pregnancy. 

“When we have weeks of poor air quality, we see more pregnant individuals coming in and delivering before 37 weeks,” Patel said, adding that parents often question whether their actions could have contributed to an early birth. “When they ask about risks for premature birth, I do say climate change. Both heat and wildfires are a risk factor. They’re not in your control.” 

Additionally, Patel said she has noticed that patients in her pediatric clinic often complain of nasal infections, eye irritation and asthmatic exacerbations, among other ailments, when wildfire smoke events happen in California. 

Pruitt said particle pollution concerns once centered on the industrial Midwest and the Northeast. But in this report, for the first time, all 25 of the cities with the most daily particle pollution were in the West. Most were in California.  

“Early in our history, a lot of particle pollution was coming from coal-fired power plants and transportation sources and industrial processes,” Pruitt said. “As the Clean Air Act has cleaned those sources up, particle pollution problems in the eastern U.S. have gotten much less serious. But in the West, they’ve of course had the same access to regulations and cleanups, but they are also being gobsmacked by climate change and wildfire.” 

Daniel Mendoza, an assistant professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah, said many communities in western states are dealing with acute, short-term pollution episodes rather than chronic exposures over a long period of time. Scientists are still trying to untangle how damaging wildfire episodes are in comparison to extended exposures from industrial sources. 

“Not all bad air pollution is created equal,” Mendoza said. 

Pollution from transportation and industrial sources could continue to decline if the Environmental Protection Agency is able to implement the more stringent standards it has proposed. The EPA proposed a rule last year that would require nearly all of the country’s coal and large gas plants to reduce or capture about 90% of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2038 . 

This March, the agency implemented stricter rules to reduce tailpipe emissions from passenger vehicles . Another EPA policy, aimed at curbing nitrogen oxide pollution that travels across states , was challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2022, the Supreme Court limited the administration’s ability to use the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

The report has one bright spot: Ozone pollution has continued its dramatic improvement. About 2.4 million fewer people are living in areas with unhealthy ozone pollution in comparison to last year. 

Wildfire smoke has worsened in the time since this analysis was complete: Americans in 2023 breathed in more wildfire smoke than any other year on record, the Stanford researchers found last year. 

Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News. He can be reached at [email protected].

Nearly 2 in 5 Americans breathe unhealthy air. Why it’s getting worse.

More than 131 million americans were living in places with unhealthy air between 2020 and 2022.

A rising number of Americans — nearly 2 in 5 — has been living with unhealthy levels of air pollution, while the United States experienced a record number of days between 2020 and 2022 with very unhealthy or hazardous air, according to a new report.

More than 90 million people are living in places where the air quality is worse than a new U.S. standard, the American Lung Association reported Wednesday in its annual State of the Air assessment , which detailed a significant increase based on the stricter national particle pollution standard.

The total includes 72 million people who would not have been counted under the looser federal standard — reflecting the dramatic effect of the Environmental Protection Agency’s new limit , which was announced this year.

Climate change — fueling wildfires, drought and dust — is not only worsening air quality, but also making pollution increasingly challenging to combat, experts said, setting up a new reality for public health and canceling out years of gains made through the Clean Air Act.

“Not only the number of people and places affected are worsening, but the severity of the pollution itself is also worsening,” said Katherine Pruitt, report author and senior director of nationwide clean air policy for the American Lung Association.

While wildfires and other conditions continued driving the decline of air quality in Western states, the change in the federal standard also revealed historically industrialized spots in the Midwest and East that need cleaner air, according to the report.

Overall, 131 million Americans live in areas with unhealthy ozone or particle pollution — an increase of nearly 12 million compared with the years between 2019 and 2021. Covering 2020 to 2022, the report also showed that the pandemic shutdown didn’t create net improvements in air quality.

Poor air increases the risk of health ailments, lung damage and cardiovascular problems; exacerbates existing conditions; and causes premature deaths. Communities of color are disproportionately affected by these impacts — of the 30 counties the American Lung Association said had failing grades on all three of its air pollution measurements, 63 percent of residents were people of color.

The report tracks daily and yearly exposure to particle pollution, which is caused by things like fires, stoves, coal-fired power plants and diesel engines, and ground-level ozone pollution, or smog, which comes from pollutants emitted in the burning of fossil fuels and the use of cars, refineries, factories and so on.

“Everyone deserves to breathe clean air,” said Marvin Brown IV, an attorney for Earthjustice. “We’re talking about your own individual health; we’re talking about the health of your family.”

Stricter standards for ‘unhealthy’ air

The shift in federal standard offers an “overdue recognition” of the health risk faced in many areas of the country, the report said.

“We think those people have probably been breathing unhealthy air for a while,” Pruitt said, “but this stronger standard now allows us to more accurately convey the risk to people’s health.”

It will take until 2032 for U.S. counties to meet the new standard, the EPA has said . Fully implemented, the standard would save 6.6 million more total years of life than the previous standard, largely in the West and Midwest, the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago has estimated.

Still, it isn’t as stringent as the standard recommended by the World Health Organization, said Susan Anenberg, director of George Washington University’s Climate Health Institute, noting that it doesn’t denote a “healthy” level of pollution.

“You should consider them more like speed limits, where there is still a risk below the speed limit,” she said. “Just because the standard is set at that level does not mean there are no health effects below that level.”

Meanwhile, climate change will continue presenting challenges to regulation, experts said. Reversing the factors that are causing more fire, drought and dust is far more challenging than, for instance, putting regulations on tailpipe emissions.

“It’s harder to wring more emission reductions out of the combustion processes that we’re accustomed to regulating,” Anenberg said, “and it’s more difficult to foresee how we’re going to be able to protect air quality and public health in the future.”

What’s driving higher pollution

For six years straight, the number of people living in counties that experienced unhealthy spikes in particle pollution has increased, reaching 65 million in the time period of the report.

Seven of the 25 cities with the worst daily pollution saw their highest-ever number of unhealthy days, and the Las Vegas; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle metro areas had such bad declines in air quality that they moved into the top 25 most-polluted cities.

Those types of spikes are largely occurring due to extreme heat, drought and wildfires, the report said. Fires, for instance, increased the number of days with air quality rated “very unhealthy” or “hazardous,” the two highest categories, which are colored purple and maroon on the air quality index.

On an annual basis, cities in the West topped the list of the 25 most polluted, with the central California areas of Bakersfield, Visalia and Fresno remaining at the top. East of the Rockies, however, other historically polluted metro areas maintained spots on the list: Indianapolis, Detroit, Houston and Pittsburgh, among others.

Since the Clean Air Act was enacted in 1970, it has added an average of 1.4 years to the American life expectancy, said Christa Hasenkopf, director of the clean air program of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. But even a couple of weeks of smoky air from wildfires each year can affect that.

“It’ll chip away at those 1.4 more years of your life,” Hasenkopf said. “That’s the ballpark number we’ve gained and what we could stand to lose.”

Improving ozone

While the report found particle pollution was worse over the three-year period, an improvement in ozone pollution continued, attributed to policy changes under the Clean Air Act. Three in 10 Americans live in counties with ozone levels high enough to earn them a failing grade, but that total was nearly 2.5 million fewer people than in the previous year’s report, according to the ALA.

Another marker of improvement: This year’s report saw a record low of 71 days with a “very unhealthy” air quality ranking for ozone anywhere in the country — in 2001, at its recorded peak, the ALA reported 1,563 “very unhealthy” ozone days.

“The transition of the economy away from coal-fired power plants, the dirtiest fossil fuel, and towards clean renewable sources of energy has unquestionably had an impact,” the report said.

Still, ozone pollution in many individual counties was found to have worsened over the report’s three-year period, and most places with the worst pollution are Western cities, showing that climate change is also “undercutting the progress we would have made” on ozone, the report said.

The U.S. areas with the cleanest air, measuring for both particle and ozone pollution, were Bangor, Maine; Honolulu; Wilmington, N.C.; Lincoln, Neb., and the Johnson City metro area in Tennessee and Virginia.

New EPA regulations target air, water, land and climate pollution from power plants, especially those that burn coal

E lectric power generation in the U.S. is shifting rapidly away from fossil fuels toward cleaner and lower-carbon sources. State clean energy targets and dramatic declines in the cost of renewable electricity are the most important reasons.

But fossil fuel plants still generate 60% of the U.S. electricity supply, producing air, water and land pollutants and greenhouse gases in the process. To reduce these impacts, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a suite of rules on April 25, 2024. They focus mainly on coal plants, the nation’s most-polluting electricity source.

As an environmental lawyer who has been in practice since the early 1970s, I believe these curbs on power plant pollution are long overdue. The new rules close loopholes in existing laws that have allowed coal-fired power plants to pollute the nation’s air and water for decades. And they require utilities to drastically slash these plants’ greenhouse gas emissions or close them down.

Opponents, including industry groups and Republican attorneys general, have raised concerns, and some have vowed to sue . They argue that the EPA has overreached its legal authority and is imposing crippling costs on the coal industry. While these arguments may resonate with conservative judges, in my view the EPA’s carefully crafted rules are on firm legal ground and have a strong chance of being upheld.

Mercury, wastewater and coal ash

The first rule updates the Clean Air Act’s 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards . Mercury, which is emitted into the air when coal is burned, is a neurotoxin that causes developmental damage in children and has contaminated fisheries throughout the U.S .

The new rule closes the so-called “ lignite loophole ,” which allows plants burning lignite – the lowest grade of coal – to emit more than three times as much mercury pollution as other coal plants. There are only a handful of lignite plants still operating in the U.S., concentrated in Texas and North Dakota. The new rule lowers the emissions standard for mercury from these plants by 70% .

A second rule tightens standards for wastewater from coal-fired power plants under the Clean Water Act. These plants use a lot of water for cooling, producing steam and industrial processes. The wastewater that they discharge into rivers, lakes and streams contains toxic pollutants such as mercury and arsenic that threaten drinking water supplies and fisheries.

The EPA estimates that the new rule will reduce these pollutants by about 670 million pounds per year . Coal plant owners will have until 2029 to comply, unless they agree to permanently stop burning coal by 2034.

Burning coal also generates millions of tons of ash, which can contain toxic heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic and cadmium . The third new rule deals with “ legacy sites ” – inactive coal plants – that collectively hold 500 million tons of coal ash in unlined, unmonitored waste pits and holding ponds.

Coal ash spills have contaminated rivers in Tennessee , North Carolina and elsewhere. Over 160 unlined lagoons remain . Most legacy sites are located in low-income communities and communities of color .

The new rule responds to a 2015 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The EPA had adopted a rule that regulated coal ash storage at active power plants but not at inactive plants – an approach that the court held was unlawful. The new regulation will require safe management of coal ash at previously unregulated legacy sites.

Carbon pollution standards

The most potentially controversial rule in the new package addresses greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal plants and new gas-fired power plants. Section 111 of the Clean Air Act directs the EPA to define the “best system of emission reduction” for air pollutants, including greenhouse emissions, from power plants. States must then submit plans to the EPA to adopt these systems. If a state refuses, the agency takes over implementation.

The EPA has determined that carbon capture and sequestration is the best system of emission reduction for both existing coal plants and new gas plants. The agency initially proposed to regulate emissions from existing gas plants but is deferring that step.

The rule adopts a staggered approach to compliance that encourages early retirement of the country’s aging coal fleet . Plants retiring before 2032 would not be subject to the rule. Those scheduled to close by 2039 would have to reduce emissions by 16% by 2030. Plants slated to operate beyond 2039 must reduce their greenhouse emissions by 90% by 2032.

To give utilities some flexibility, the rule allows sources to use “ green hydrogen ” – produced by splitting water using renewable energy – in their fuel mix, and to participate in emissions trading programs .

Next stop: Court

In my opinion, the regulation that faces the most serious legal challenge is the one addressing greenhouse emissions at coal plants. The mercury and coal ash rules simply plug loopholes in existing regulations, and the wastewater rule is a long overdue update of technology standards to control toxic discharges. All three rules are squarely within EPA’s regulatory wheelhouse and grounded in explicit statutory authority.

The climate rule may face a harder road because of the Supreme Court’s 2022 West Virginia v. EPA ruling, which invalidated the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan and applied a new approach to interpreting laws called the “ major question doctrine .” This concept basically says that where a new rule would have “vast economic and political significance,” Congress must explicitly empower the agency with authority over the issue, and the court will not defer to the agency’s interpretation regardless of policy considerations or the agency’s expertise.

The fate of the climate rule may depend on how courts answer these three questions:

– Does the major question doctrine apply?

The EPA has gone to great lengths to distinguish this rule from the ill-fated Clean Power Plan and heed the Supreme Court’s directive to stay in its lane. The new rule takes a traditional, time-tested approach to setting emissions limits based on pollution controls that are available to individual plants.

Indeed, carbon capture and sequestration is analogous to scrubbers – devices that the EPA has required for decades to remove pollutants such as fine particulates, sulfur dioxide and mercury from power plant smokestacks. And the new rule does not require utilities to shift from coal or natural gas to renewable fuels, which was what most troubled the court in the West Virginia case.

– Is carbon capture and sequestration ready for prime time?

The Clean Air Act requires that a best system of emissions reduction must be “ adequately demonstrated .” Courts have interpreted this phrase to include options that are forward-looking and “technology-forcing” – meaning that the standards may not be achievable today, but information available now shows they will be achievable in the future.

The D.C. Circuit Court has repeatedly affirmed that the EPA has the “authority to hold the industry to a standard of improved design and operational advances, so long as there is substantial evidence that such improvements are feasible and will produce the improved performance necessary to meet the standard.”

– Will the rule affect power grid reliability?

Shifting too abruptly to new fuels and technologies could make it hard for utilities to generate enough electricity to meet demand. However, the EPA consulted with state and federal agencies and power companies and conducted a detailed analysis, which concluded that the power plant rule would not have a major impact on reliability .

The rule gives owners until 2032 to incorporate carbon capture and sequestration and allows states to keep plants online for an extra year if they can show that retiring them threatens grid reliability. Other provisions give utilities added flexibility.

As of April 2024, there are about 200 coal-burning power plants still operating across the U.S. Plants representing one-fourth of that capacity are projected to close by 2029 for economic reasons unrelated to regulations.

These new rules will certainly make operating coal plants more expensive. This will make the price of electricity generated from coal reflect its true costs to society more accurately. Given coal energy’s impacts on our nation’s air, waters, land and climate, as well as on public health, I see this action as squarely within the EPA’s mission.

This article is republished from The Conversation , >, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and analysis to help you make sense of our complex world.

• Pollution from coal power plants contributes to far more deaths than scientists realized, study shows
• What is a virtual power plant? An energy expert explains

Patrick Parenteau does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

These Iowa metros have the cleanest air in U.S., says new report. See air quality near you.

Several places in Iowa are among the cleanest across America when it comes to certain air pollutants, according to a new report from the American Lung Association.

The American Lung Association released the State of the Air report for 2024, which includes rankings for cleanest and most polluted places across the country.

More than a third of Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone, or smog, and particle pollution, according to the association. That’s an additional 11.7 million people breathing unhealthy air compared to the 2023 report, the association found.

This rise is the result of factors including extreme heat, drought and wildfires, as well as the State of the Air report using a new, stronger U.S. Environmental Protection Agency national air quality standard, according to the association.

Here’s how Iowa fares when it comes to air pollution.

Which areas in Iowa are among the cleanest in America regarding air quality?

The EPA’s Clean Air Act identifies six common air pollutants which includes ozone and particulate matter.

Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines is one of the cleanest metropolitans in America for ozone in a list of dozens of cities and metros in America, according to the report.

The combined Burlington-Fort Madison-Keokuk metropolitan area is among the cleanest metros in America regarding short-term particle pollution, as is the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro.

There are no rankings for these two categories as all cities listed received the same scores.

Here are the counties in Iowa with passing grades on particle pollution . Counties with no particle pollution data aren’t shown, according to the report.

• Pottawattamie

What is ozone and particle pollution and what causes air pollution?

You may be more familiar with another term for ozone, or smog, according to the lung association . The ozone layer in Earth's upper atmosphere protects people from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. But ozone air pollution, where we can breathe it, causes “serious health problems” and attacks lung tissue, according to the lung association.

This ground-level ozone “develops in the atmosphere from gases that come out of tailpipes, smokestacks, factories” and elsewhere. Wen it comes into contact with sunlight, it reacts and forms ozone smog, the association explained.

This can cause immediate health effects such as shortness of breath, asthma attacks and an increased risk of respiratory infections, according to the lung association.

Particle pollution, also known as particulate matter or soot, means a mix of solid and liquid particles in the air we breathe, according to the lung association . Many of the particles are not visible, but high levels of this pollutant will make the air hazy.

Particle pollution can be caused directly from sources such as by using wood stoves, or when activities emit gases that can form the particles, such as power plants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Other sources that can cause particle pollution include vehicles and construction sites, according to the CDC.

While bigger particles can irritate your eyes, nose and throat, smaller particles can get into your lungs and blood, making them more dangerous, according to the CDC.

Which cities in America have the worst air pollution?

The Los Angeles and Long Beach metro in California ranked No. 1 for ozone. Bakersfield, California also ranked No. 1 for both the worst year-round and short-term particle pollution.

How can I find out the air quality in Iowa and near me?

Search a location by zip code, city or state to learn more about the current air quality and forecasts on airnow.gov . AirNow is a partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, CDC, and other national, state and local agencies.

Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at  [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.