During the Great Smog ambulances and public transportation stopped running, aside from the London Underground. Anyone needing to go the hospital had to get there on their own.
The soot particles from chimneys made the Great Smog's air appear yellow/black.
Driving during the Great Smog was almost impossible because the fog was so thick visibility was reduced to only a few meters.
Death rates remained high after the Great Smog. Originally many of the 12,000 total deaths were blamed on influenza but later it became clear the deaths were mainly due to the Great Smog.
The Clean Air Act of 1956 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom as a result of the Great Smog of 1952.
The majority of deaths resulting from the Great Smog were due to hypoxia, respiratory tract infections, and lung infections.
The Clean Air Act of 1956 led to the Clean Air Act of 1968 and held a great deal of importance towards public health, public regulation, and clean air government intervention measures.
Additional smog events have occurred in other parts of the world including the 2013 Eastern China Smog and the 2013 Northeastern China Smog.
The conditions led to formation of a thick smog over the city of London. The condition was worsened by airborne pollutants in the city.
The problem was that it was a time after the war (World War II). Britain’s economy was totally shattered and it was one of many reasons why Britain’s colonial era came to an end.
Weather back then was cold. However, other conditions were present. The conditions were windless and it was an anticyclone weather condition.
These power stations also used the same low grade coal of sulfurous variety for generating power. As a result, they too added to the Sulfur Dioxide content in the air.
Because of the economic hardships, Britain had to export high quality coal known as ‘hard coal’. For domestic use, Britain used the low quality coal which had high sulfur content.
Because of the temperature inversion, a layer of stagnant cold air got trapped under a warm air layer. As that happened, the cold temperature persisted and people started burning more coal.
The fog thus created was pretty persistent and lasted for a few days. The smog contained tarry particles of soot.
As more coal was burned than usual, a fog mixed with pollutants was created by December 5. The conditions worsened because of the power stations, pollutants from vehicle exhausts etc.
Extremely low visibility made it impossible to drive. All forms of public transports came to a stand still. Not only that, ambulance services were stopped too. People who had to go to hospitals had to go on their own.
Not just that, all outdoor sport events were forced to be canceled because of the smog.
This was the worst smog of all. London had previous experience of heavy fogs but this was different, way denser and lasted longer than previous counterpart. So dense was the smog that the visibility was reduced only to a few meters.
The smog took a heavy toll on life but weirdly enough, people weren’t really panicked because they were accustomed to heavy fog and didn’t think that the smog was killing them.
Suburb areas of inner London were also hit hard. Absence of moving vehicles meant no disturbance in the stagnant air and hence, no thinning out of the dense fog.
The preliminary report (that was never really finalized) stated that influenza was the cause of the deaths. Later it was found that it was smog that killed and only a few people died of influenza.
People who walked outside had to shuffle feet to feel for possible obstacles. This happened during day! At night, people couldn’t even see their feet because the incandescent light bulbs of the street lamps couldn’t penetrate the smog.
Though official records state that only 4,000 died, later research concluded that some 12,000 died during the fog and over 100,000 more were ill because of respiratory tract infection.
Most of the dead were elderly or very young or the victims had some preexisting respiratory problems. The preliminary report (that was never really finalized) stated that influenza was the cause of the deaths.
आमतौर पर जब ठंडी हवा किसी भीडभाड वाली जगह पर पहुचती है तब Smog बनता है चूँकि ठंडी हवा भारी होती है इसलिए वह भीड़ वाले इलाके की गर्म हवा के नीचे एक परत बना लेती है तब ऐसा लगता है जैसे ठंडी हवा ने पुरे शहर को एक कम्बल की तरह लपेट लिया है |
दिल्ली ,बीजिंग या फिर पेरिस विकास की राह में आगे बढ़ रहे लगभग सभी देश के बड़े शहर Smog नाम के खतरे का सामना कर रहे है |
Smog शब्द का इस्तेमाल 20वी सदी की शुरुवात से हो रहा है यह शब्द अंग्रेजी के दो शब्दों Smoke और Fog से मिलकर बना है |
विश्व स्वास्थ्य संघठन काफी समय से चेतावनी देता आया है कि सूक्ष्म पार्टिकुलेट कण , ओजोन ,नाइट्रोजन मोनोऑक्साइड और सल्फर डाईऑक्साइड लोगो की सेहत के लिए बहुत खतरनाक है |
पिछले सालो में WHO ने बार बार कहा है कि इन हानिकारक पदार्थो के लिए एक सीमा तय करनी चाहिए नही तो बड़े शहरों में रहने वाले लोगो को बहुत नुकसान पहुचेगा |
वायु प्रदुषण की वजह से समय से पहले होने वाली मौतों मामल में चीन पहले नम्बर पर है और भारत दुसरे नम्बर पर है |
दुनिया के 90 प्रतिशत लोग आज भी अशुद्ध हवा में सांस लेते है |
एक रिपोर्ट के अनुसार 2015 में वायु प्रदुषण की वजह से चीन में 11 लाख से ज्यादा लोग मारे गये जबकि भारत के 10 लाख 90 हजार लोग वायु प्रदुषण का शिकार हुए |
गर्मियों में जब Smog बनता है तो सबसे बड़ी समस्या ओजोन की होती है | कारो के धुएं में जो नाइट्रोजन ऑक्साइड एवं हाइड्रोकार्बन्स होते है वे सूर्य की रोशनी में रंगहीन ओजोन गैस में बदल जाते है |