Air Pollution

Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that
are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to
materials. It is also the contamination of indoor or outdoor surrounding either by chemical
activities, physical or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere.
It increases the risk of respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer. Both short and long
term exposure to air pollutants have been associated with health impacts. More severe impacts
affect people who are already ill. Children, the elderly and poor people are more susceptible.
Air pollution can damage crops and trees in a variety of ways. Ground-level ozone can lead to
reductions in agricultural crop and commercial forest yields, reduced growth and survivability of
tree seedlings, and increased plant susceptibility to disease, pests and other environmental
stresses (such as harsh weather).
Emissions of pollutants into the air can result in changes to the climate. These pollutants,
including greenhouse gases, are often referred to as climate forcers. Ozone in the atmosphere
warms the climate, while different components of PM can have either warming or cooling effects
on the climate
Air pollution injury to plants can be evident in several ways. Injury to foliage may be visible in a
short time and appear as necrotic lesions (dead tissue), or it can develop slowly as a yellowing or
chlorosis of the leaf. There may be a reduction in growth of various portions of a plant
Particulate matter can reduce the amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth's surface,
affecting the rate at which water evaporates and moves into the atmosphere. They also affect
clouds' formation and water-carrying capacity.
The burning of fossil fuels for transportation and energy generation is the primary source of this
pollution. The black smoke you see coming from cars on the road and industries in industrial
zones are all major sources of air pollution in Pakistan
What are 4 effects of air pollution on humans?
Long-term health effects from air pollution include heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory
diseases such as emphysema. Air pollution can also cause long-term damage to people's nerves,
brain, kidneys, liver, and other organs.
Types of air pollutants, such as gases (including ammonia, CO2, carbon monoxide, sulfur
dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane and chlorofluorocarbons), particulates (both organic and
inorganic), and biological molecules.
Primary Pollutants Ammonia, CO2, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane,
chlorofluorocarbons Radioactive pollutants, SO2.
Secondary Pollutants Ozone, Smog

Causes of Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also
cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and crops, and may damage the natural
environment (for example, climate change, ozone depletion or habitat degradation) or built
environment (for example, acid rain). Air pollution can be caused by both human activities and
natural phenomena.
Overall, air pollution causes the deaths of around 7 million people worldwide each year, It is the
world's largest single environmental health risk, which has not shown significant progress since
at least 2015. Outdoor air pollution attributable to fossil fuel use alone causes ~3.61 million
deaths annually. Indoor air pollution and poor urban air quality are listed as two of the world's
worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute World's Worst Polluted Places
report.
In 2018, WHO estimated that “9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of
pollutants.” Although the health consequences are extensive, the way the problem is handled is
considered largely haphazard or neglected.
Sources
Anthropogenic (human-made) sources
 Stationary sources include
o fossil-fuel power plants and biomass power plants both have smoke stacks (see for
example environmental impact of the coal industry)
 Oil and gas sites that have methane leaks
o burning of traditional biomass such as wood, crop waste and dung. (In developing and
poor countries,[43] traditional biomass burning is the major source of air pollutants.
manufacturing facilities (factories)
 a 2014 study found that in China equipment-, machinery-, and devices-
manufacturing and construction sectors contributed more than 50% of air pollutant
emissions. This high emission is due to high emission intensity and high emission
factors in its industrial structure.
o construction
o furnaces and other types of fuel-burning heating devices[56]
 Mobile sources include motor vehicles, Trains (particularly diesel locomotives and DMUs),
marine vessels and aircraft[57] as well as rockets and re-entry of components and debris.
[58]
The air pollution externality of cars enters the air from the exhaust gas and car tires
(including microplastics.
 Agriculture and forest management strategies using controlled burns. Practices like slash-
and-burn in forests like the Amazon cause large air pollution with the deforestation.
There are also sources from processes other than combustion:
 Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents. These can be
substantial; emissions from these sources was estimated to account for almost half of
pollution from volatile organic compounds in the Los Angeles basin in the 2010s.
 Waste deposition in landfills produces methane.
 Nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare, and rocketry are examples of military
resources.
 Agricultural emissions and emissions from meat production or livestock contribute
substantially to air pollution
o Fertilized farmland (NO2)
Natural sources
 Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little vegetation or no vegetation
 Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle
 Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust. it is the second most frequent
cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking.
 Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires.
 Vegetation, in some regions, emits environmentally significant amounts of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) on warmer days. These VOCs react with primary anthropogenic
pollutants – specifically, NOx, SO2, and anthropogenic organic carbon compounds – to
produce a seasonal haze of secondary pollutants.
 Volcanic activity, which produces sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates

Air Pollution

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Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that

What are 4 effects of air pollution on humans?

Secondary Pollutants Ozone, Smog

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