Air Pollutionby Yoba Alenga | 22-04-2019 23:19 |
|---|
|
A real problem¡¦ Air pollution is a real nowadays. This is the reason why the United Nations adopted the "Air pollution" as main theme of the World Environmental Day 2019.Approximately 8 million people worldwide die prematurely each year from air pollution, with about 4 million of these deaths occurring in Asia-Pacific. Air Pollution facts:
What is Air pollution? Air pollution is a problem as old as history itself. Air pollution can be defined broadly as the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials into the atmosphere that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment. Air pollution can be classified into anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic origin. The latter includes natural events such as wildfires, volcanic activity and dust/sand storms. A substance in the air that can be adverse to humans and the environment is known as an air pollutant. Pollutants can be in the form of solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases. In addition, they may be natural or man-made. Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include: Sulphur oxides, Nitrogen oxides, Carbon monoxide, Volatile organic compounds, Persistent free radicals, Toxic metals (such as lead and mercury), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), Ammonia, Radioactive pollutants, Odors. What areresponsible factors of Air Pollution ? Air pollution can result from both human and natural actions. Natural events that pollute the air include forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion, pollen dispersal, evaporation of organic compounds and natural radioactivity. Sources of air pollution refer to the various locations, activities or factors which are responsible for the releasing of pollutants into the atmosphere. What are effects of Air Pollution? Air pollution causes damage to human health, crops, ecosystems and cultural heritage¡¦
Air pollution is a significant risk factor for multiple health conditions including respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer, according to the World health Organization. The health effects caused by air pollution may include difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing, asthma and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. The human health effects of poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect the body's respiratory system and the cardiovascular system. The World Health Organization states that air pollution is responsible for an estimated 8 million deaths annually, or one in eight premature deaths every year. This makes it the world¡¯s largest environmental health risk, and among the largest global health risks – comparable with ¡°traditional¡± health risks such as smoking, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and obesity.Some 4.3 million air pollution-related deaths are due to household air pollution and 3.7 million deaths are due to outdoor air pollution. Most air pollution-related deaths are from heart disease and stroke, followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute and chronic respiratory conditions and cancers.
Poisonous air pollutants (toxic chemicals in the air) can form acid rain. It can also form dangerous ground level ozone. These destroy trees, crops, farms, animals and continue to make water bodies harmful to humans and animals that live and depend on water.
The effect of air pollution on the economy may be a derived one. In simple language, the economy thrives when people are healthy, and business that depends on cultivated raw materials and natural resources are running at full efficiency. Air pollution reduces agricultural crop and commercial forest yields by billions of money each year. This in addition to people staying off work for health reasons can costs the economy greatly. How to control Air pollution? Solution efforts on pollution are always a big problem. This is why prevention interventions are always a better way of controlling air pollution. These prevention methods can either come from government (laws) or by individual actions.
Governments throughout the world have already taken action against air pollution by introducing green energy. Some governments are investing in wind energy and solar energy, as well as other renewable energy, to minimize burning of fossil fuels, which cause heavy air pollution.
We have to encourage our own families to use the bus, train or bike when commuting. If we all do this, there will be fewer cars on road and less fumes. We can use energy (light, water, boiler, kettle and fire woods) wisely. This is because lots of fossil fuels are burned to generate electricity, and so if we can cut down the use, we will also cut down the amount of pollution we create. We can't stop breathing, but we can do something about the quality of air that we breathe¡¦ |
