London fog weather7/14/2023 ![]() ![]() For instance, over the summer, air pollution spiked across Europe due to record-breaking temperatures and wildfires, with ozone exposure exceeding the World Health Organization’s limit in areas like Southeast England and northern France. While these laws and others have helped clean up air pollution in many areas, smog remains a problem around the world. (Learn more in our blog post celebrating the 50th anniversary of this law.) ![]() Clean Air Act in 1970 and its strengthening in 1990. Similarly, the devastation that occurred in Donora and across the U.S. The Great Smog was followed by the passage of the Clean Air Acts of 19 in England. These deadly smog events helped lead to laws being passed to improve air quality. experienced similar ghastly smog events, some captured in this The New York Times slideshow. Here in the United States, a similar major air pollution event happened in late October in 1948 in Donora, Pennsylvania, where trapped air pollutants made thousands sick and killed 20 people shortly thereafter (and likely more in the long term). ![]() Today, the pollution is estimated to have led to roughly 12,000 deaths, in addition to hospitalizations related to pneumonia and bronchitis. The devastating long-term impacts of the Great Smog weren't fully understood until years after the incident. It was reported that the smog made visibility so poor in certain areas of the city that pedestrians could not see their own feet. As a result, the pollution from the city, namely emissions from domestic fireplaces and factory chimneys, was trapped near ground level. What exactly is the Great Smog of London and how did it happen? The event took place from December 5 to 9 in 1952 when an anticyclone settled over the city which caused an inversion that trapped the cold air below a layer of warm air higher up. The smog, which was caused by a combination of emissions from burning coal and natural weather patterns that trapped the pollution in place, ended up killing thousands of Londoners. This year marks the 70th Anniversary of the Great Smog of London, a deadly and consequential air pollution event in which a thick smog overtook the city for five days in December 1952. ![]()
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