Air pollution is one of the serious types of pollution which is responsible for adverse environmental degradation, human health issues, and negative impact on floras and faunas. Air pollution creates long term effects that are really difficult to sort out. One of the noticeable effect of air pollution is global warming and greenhouse effect. Ten adverse effects of air pollution are listed below:
10 adverse effects of air pollution on the environment
- Reduction in visibility: Visibility reduction is on of the noticeable effect of air pollution. Once particulate matters such as dust, dirt, soot, coal ash, smoke, etc accumulates in the atmosphere light is scattered and absorbed by the particles which causes lesser light to reach in the observer's eyes, this then results in visibility reduction. Visibility reduction is irritating, often can bring mental health problems, and sometimes can cause serious road accidents.
- Reduction in solar radiation: Excessive air pollution causes smog effect in which dark fog is concentrated over the cities and fields. This layer of pollutants over us in the atmosphere absorbs and disperses sunlight and hence reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the earth's surface. Long term reduction in solar radiation will cause less productivity in plants, health issues in humans, and irregularity in water cycle.
- Green house effect: when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants and green house gases collect in the atmosphere and absorbs radiations which leads to overall increase in temperature. Humans are causing most of the harm to environment. Mountains are melting, sea levels are rising, cloud forest getting thinner and thinner every day, wildlife are muddling to get comfortable and habitable zone all because of slighter increase in average global temperature
- Inhibition in biological growth of plants: Inhibition (retardation, slower growth) in biological growth of plants can be caused by air pollution. The dust particles and other toxic chemicals in the air once blocks the small pores in the leaf called stomata responsible for photosynthesis, plant's growth gradually decreases. The productivity becomes less, leaf damages, root damages, eventually the plant dies horrible death.
- Adverse effect on human health: Breathing poisonous and toxic air, filled with dirt and dust can cause serious respiratory and heart diseases such as asthma, lungs cancer, ventricular hypertrophy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, psychological complications, autism, fetal growth and so on
- Acid rain: When sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other poisonous gases mix together in larger extent in the atmosphere and and react with water and oxygen then the rainfall thereafter is known as acid rain. Acid rain is extremely harmful to vegetation and aquatic life. Acid rain also accumulates aluminium in the soil which makes difficult for plants to absorb water form the soil.
- Ozone layer depletion: Chemical such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which contains chlorine creates holes in ozone layer known as ozone layer depletion. Other chemicals responsible for ozone depletion are hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFs), hydrobromoflurocarbons (HBFCs). Ozone layer depletion allows harmful radiations from sun to enter earths surface. These radiations can cause skin disease in animals and leaf destruction in plants.
- Change in climate: Climate Change is another consequence of global warming. When the temperature of the planet increases, there is a disturbance in the usual climatic cycles, accelerating the changes of these cycles in an evident way. Due to climate change, the mass of the poles is melting, and this is leading to flooding and the rising of sea levels
- Chemical Sensitivity:
People develop intolerance and allergies to many agents present in the atmosphere and to other external agents that can go through due to the holes in the ozone layer. This is because there is a high concentration of chlorofluorocarbons that alter the thickness of the ozone layer. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are released using aerosols, industrial refrigerants, solvents and other very harmful chemicals.
- Global Warming: Global warming is one of the most worrying effects for scientists and environmentalists. Global warming is a direct consequence of the greenhouse effect, which is produced by the high emission of CO2 and methane into the atmosphere. Most of these emissions are produced by the industry, so this can be remedied by social responsibility and action by companies and factories.