Air pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of pollution. A biological, chemical, and physical alteration of the air occurs when smoke, dust, and any harmful gases enter into the atmosphere and make it difficult for all living beings to survive as the air becomes contaminated. Burning of fossil fuels, agriculture related activities, mining operations, exhaust from industries and factories, and household cleaning products entail air pollution. People release a huge amount of chemical substances in the air every day. The effects of air pollution are alarming. It causes global warming, acid rains, respiratory and heart problems, and eutrophication. A lot of wildlife species are forced to change their habitat in order to survive.
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.
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, thenumbers of fossil fuel burning vehicle increased rapidly which increased the number of pollutants in the air.
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.
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.The most common and easily managed cause of air pollution is the inefficient burning of fuels in industries, vehicles, cooking, and other activities which result in formation of soot, nitrogen oxides and Sulphur oxides. There are certain metallic pollutants that are released into air by the process of mining. Production of fertilizers, pesticides, etc., not only leads to air pollution but it also affects the quality of water. They have a negative effect even when they are used by farmers to increase crop production. Chemicals like ammonia are released which gets mixed with the fresh air resulting in air pollution. Industries release toxic smokes and gases which has high contents of carbon monoxide, organic compounds, hydrocarbons, chemicals, etc. And as the number of industries is increasing, there is an increase in these pollutants as the air is not treated before it is expelled in atmosphere. Even the improper waste disposal techniques are a reason for air pollution. It is not just a problem that results in land pollution but it also affects the quality of air as decomposition releases methane gas which is an air pollutant.
Group3:
Erica Quine
Geeno Veracion
Lyndelle Acosta
Lyka Mario
Kathleen Ogalino
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.The most common and easily managed cause of air pollution is the inefficient burning of fuels in industries, vehicles, cooking, and other activities which result in formation of soot, nitrogen oxides and Sulphur oxides. There are certain metallic pollutants that are released into air by the process of mining. Production of fertilizers, pesticides, etc., not only leads to air pollution but it also affects the quality of water. They have a negative effect even when they are used by farmers to increase crop production. Chemicals like ammonia are released which gets mixed with the fresh air resulting in air pollution. Industries release toxic smokes and gases which has high contents of carbon monoxide, organic compounds, hydrocarbons, chemicals, etc. And as the number of industries is increasing, there is an increase in these pollutants as the air is not treated before it is expelled in atmosphere. Even the improper waste disposal techniques are a reason for air pollution. It is not just a problem that results in land pollution but it also affects the quality of air as decomposition releases methane gas which is an air pollutant.
Pollutants can be divided into gaseous and particulate. Both of them can have negative effects on human health. There are other pollutants like nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and ozone which affect the health along with certain non-halogenated hydrocarbons and Sulphur gases. It can cause a large variety of lethal and non-lethal diseases. It can make people more susceptible to something as worse as cancer.
The particulate matter affects the respiratory tract and it can cause bronchitis, asthma and other lung diseases. Smog can lower visibility and which can result in accidents on road. It also harms plant life and causes respiratory issues. Some of the examples of problems created by these pollutants are: carbon monoxide binds with hemoglobin in blood and reduces its oxygen carrying capacity. It can also be lethal at high concentrations. Sulphur oxide causes irritation in eyes and also can cause damage to respiratory tract. Air pollution is responsible for many non-communicable diseases resulting in death. These include heart diseases, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
Air pollution also damages the whole ecosystem and it affects plants and animals along with the humans. There is ozone depletion because of this which has long term adverse effects on the environment.
With increasing air pollution, global warming has increased as there is an increase in the temperature because of the greenhouse gases. These gases cause the greenhouse effect to multiply and that results in further temperature increase. This has resulted in melting of glaciers, increase in sea levels, changes in climate all over the world. There is depletion of ozone layer which exacerbates the problem with the greenhouse gases.
Air pollution challenges have been felts globally because life processes have been interfered with. The government and citizens have a collective responsibility in the prevention and control of air pollution. The effects of air pollution will reduce upon the reduction of air pollution. Although people do not have enough resources to repair the damage caused by air pollution, the prevention will gradually show improvements.
Erica Quine
Geeno Veracion
Lyndelle Acosta
Lyka Mario
Kathleen Ogalino
No comments:
Post a Comment