The word "smog"
was mentioned for the first time in London during the early 1900's to describe
the merging of smoke and fog that often covered the city. Smog is a kind of air
pollution that reduces visibility (mixture of air pollutants - nitrogen oxides and
volatile organic compounds).
Nowadays, most of the smog
which surrounds us, is photochemical smog. Photochemical smog is formed when
sunlight reacts with nitrogen oxides and at least one volatile organic compound
in the atmosphere. Nitrogen oxides come from car exhaust, coal power plants,
and factory emissions. Volatile organic compounds are released from paints and
gasoline. When sunlight hits these chemicals, they form airborne particles and
ground-level ozone.
Smog is a huge problem in a
number of cities and continues to harm human health and even cause property damage.
Humans are exposed to such diseases like asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other
respiratory problems as well as eye irritation and reduced resistance to colds
and lung infections.
In
typical urban areas about half of the smog precursors come from vehicles -
cars, buses and lorries. Smog occurs often when there is a hot sunny day with a
calm wind and intense vehicle traffic is intense. Weather and
geography affect the location and severity of smog. Because temperature
regulates the length of time it takes for smog to form, smog can occur more
quickly and be more severe on a hot, sunny day.
The
Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for indicating air quality. It shows how
clean or dirty the air is and what health effects it might
have on you.
| Air Quality Index (AQI) Values | Levels of Health Concern | Colors |
|---|---|---|
| When the AQI is in this range: | ..air quality conditions are: | ...as symbolized by this color: |
| 0 to 50 | Good | Green |
| 51 to 100 | Moderate | Yellow |
| 101 to 150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | Orange |
| 151 to 200 | Unhealthy | Red |
| 201 to 300 | Very Unhealthy | Purple |
| 301 to 500 | Hazardous | Maroon |
|
https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqi
What
is interesting, Poland’s capital - Warsaw also suffers from smog. The average
Air Quality Index registered in January and February was 176. In comparison,
the average for Beijing was 196 on the same day.
At
the end, I would like to present top 10 cities with the
worst air pollution:
1.
Beijing, China
2.
Ahwaz, Iran
3.
Ulan Bator, Mongolia
4.
Lahore, Pakistan
5.
New Delhi, India
6.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
7.
Cairo, Egypt
8.
Dhaka, Bangladesh
9.
Moscow, Russia
10. Mexico City, Mexico
Questions:
1.
How
should we fight with smog?
2.
How can you
recognize/detect smog where you live?
Bibliography:
| ||
Comments
I can't detect smog where I live. I live in a small village so I hope there is negligible air pollution.
What do you think about this idea?
We are people who try to bypass something, cheat, 'win' etc. We are satisfied if we save money - very often regardless of effects.
So, when it comes to smog in our country, there are some reasons:
1. vehicles - I heard it has an influence, but not so big, but really I'm not sure
2. heating homes and stoves in factories - this is the biggest reason of smog formation
3. weather, but we have no influence on it
Why do I write about cheating in our country?
There are many law regulations about heating homes or keeping some standards in factories, but we don't do that. We try to 'save' money, be 'smarter' than others and so on. Perhaps, we save 10 PLN monthly per household, but is it worth? Don't think so. If we start thinking 'globally' (not only about ourselves) such problems like smog will be much smaller. In my opinion, it's the most effective way.
Secondly, factories should change their technics of getting energy. I'm not a specialist that's why I would rather not to come into details.
Cycling to work instead of driving enables us not only to save the environment but also our health. I think the spring and summer periods are perfect for changing our transportation habits. :-)
Have you wonder why the smog emissions level are higher when there are many houses around (not the block of flats). The main reason for high air pollution levels are old fireplaces in houses. Really people are putting everything there including pet bottles and every thrash that they can find in the house. The problem is mainly only in the winter. Look how many people got caught by Straż Miejska this year in Wawer or in Cracow where they are trying to ban using of coal fireplaces and change them into gas ones.
Cars in Warsaw where traffic jams are very high are emitting just 6% of total air pollution so the problem mainly is not here.
2. How can you recognize/detect smog where you live?
I think you will detect just while breathing and if you wish to really be sure install app like Kanarek on your phone and you will know instantly.
Nowadays we can hear, mainly from those living in big cities, a lot of complaints about air pollution. Citizens lament over poor air quality, but it seems that for many of them their involvement in solving the problem is limited to these complaints. We should increase our commitment by starting from small things like changing our eco-destructive habits, but even more importantly we should think and act globally (at least at the city level).
Moreover, cities should invest more in eco-friendly transport systems and make the prices more attractive.
Hopefully, thanks to our efforts, we won’t need to wear pollution masks like many other nations do.
To be honest I am not an expert on this topic so I only know two methods to fight with smog. The first one is using public transport instead of using a car. The second one is changing old fireplaces in houses and stop burning every trash that are in the house in them. By doing this we can reduce pollution emission.
2. How can you recognize/detect smog where you live?
I can feel the difference when I back to my home town - Slupsk (Pomerania). Air there is so fresh and clean. When I back to Warsaw - the feel of air is so "heavy".
Like the western countries we should introduce restriction areas for cars in city centers. Another issue is that, people burning trashes, which are produce a lot of toxic.
I am used to smog so much, that I don't feel it on daily basis. I see the difference, when I go on holidays.
And yes, smog is almost visible and touchable here in Warsaw.
I consider Paris ban on cars excluded during some days of the week based on their licence plate's number as ridiculous. More rational would be for me to give people the possibility to choose a day without car freely.
But seriously. We as citizens should care more for our enviroment. For starters we could use less cars/public transport depending on fuels. Electric cars are quite a good choice in this matter if someone doesn't want to entirely get rid of their cars. We should be pressing on politicians and firms to stop using coal and fix the air flow in the city. Not many people know this but building many high buildings in close vicinity to each other blocks the air flow. Which in turn allows smog to "rest" in one place. Besides who likes these god damned clouds in the streets of our city?