Water Fall: Air Pollution : What and How ?

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment into the atmosphere.

Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include:

Sulfur oxides (SO_x) - especially sulfur dioxide
Nitrogen oxides (NO_x) - especially nitrogen dioxide are emitted from high temperature combustion
Carbon monoxide - is a colourless, odourless, non-irritating but very poisonous gas
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) - a greenhouse gas emitted from combustion but is also a gas vital to living organisms
Volatile organic compounds - VOCs are an important outdoor air pollutant
Particulate matter - Particulates
Toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and copper.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - harmful to the ozone layer emitted from products currently banned from use
Ammonia (NH₃) - emitted from agricultural processes.
Odors — such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes
Radioactive pollutants - produced by nuclear explosions, war explosives, and natural processes such as the radioactive decay of radon.
Ground level ozone (O₃) formed from NO_x and VOCs
Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) - similarly formed from NO_x and VOCs

Health effects

The World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution, with 1.5 million of these deaths attributable to indoor air pollution

The health effects caused by air pollutants may range from subtle biochemical and physiological changes to difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. These effects can result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room visits, more hospital admissions and premature death. The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure, the individual's health status and genetics.

The effects of these laws have been very positive. In the United States between 1970 and 2006, citizens enjoyed the following reductions in annual pollution emissions :

carbon monoxide emissions fell from 197 million tons to 89 million tons
nitrogen oxide emissions fell from 27 million tons to 19 million tons
sulfur dioxide emissions fell from 31 million tons to 15 million tons
particulate emissions fell by 80%
lead emissions fell by more than 98%

Effects on children

Cities around the world with high exposure to air pollutants have the possibility of children living within them to develop asthma, pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections as well as a low initial birth rate. Protective measures to ensure the youths' health are being taken in cities such as New Delhi, India where buses now use compressed natural gas to help eliminate the “pea-soup” smog.

Regions With The Highest Air Pollution in The World