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Air pollution.

Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings.

Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Geography

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Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals, and plants. It also damages buildings. Pollutants in the air take many forms. They can be gases , solid particles, or liquid droplets. Sources of Air Pollution Pollution enters the Earth's atmosphere in many different ways. Most air pollution is created by people, taking the form of emissions from factories, cars, planes, or aerosol cans . Second-hand cigarette smoke is also considered air pollution. These man-made sources of pollution are called anthropogenic sources . Some types of air pollution, such as smoke from wildfires or ash from volcanoes , occur naturally. These are called natural sources . Air pollution is most common in large cities where emissions from many different sources are concentrated . Sometimes, mountains or tall buildings prevent air pollution from spreading out. This air pollution often appears as a cloud making the air murky. It is called smog . The word "smog" comes from combining the words "smoke" and " fog ." Large cities in poor and developing nations tend to have more air pollution than cities in developed nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , some of the worlds most polluted cities are Karachi, Pakistan; New Delhi, India; Beijing, China; Lima, Peru; and Cairo, Egypt. However, many developed nations also have air pollution problems. Los Angeles, California, is nicknamed Smog City. Indoor Air Pollution Air pollution is usually thought of as smoke from large factories or exhaust from vehicles. But there are many types of indoor air pollution as well. Heating a house by burning substances such as kerosene , wood, and coal can contaminate the air inside the house. Ash and smoke make breathing difficult, and they can stick to walls, food, and clothing. Naturally-occurring radon gas, a cancer -causing material, can also build up in homes. Radon is released through the surface of the Earth. Inexpensive systems installed by professionals can reduce radon levels. Some construction materials, including insulation , are also dangerous to people's health. In addition, ventilation , or air movement, in homes and rooms can lead to the spread of toxic mold . A single colony of mold may exist in a damp, cool place in a house, such as between walls. The mold's spores enter the air and spread throughout the house. People can become sick from breathing in the spores. Effects On Humans People experience a wide range of health effects from being exposed to air pollution. Effects can be broken down into short-term effects and long-term effects . Short-term effects, which are temporary , include illnesses such as pneumonia or bronchitis . They also include discomfort such as irritation to the nose, throat, eyes, or skin. Air pollution can also cause headaches, dizziness, and nausea . Bad smells made by factories, garbage , or sewer systems are considered air pollution, too. These odors are less serious but still unpleasant . Long-term effects of air pollution can last for years or for an entire lifetime. They can even lead to a person's death. 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. Some scientists suspect air pollutants cause birth defects . Nearly 2.5 million people die worldwide each year from the effects of outdoor or indoor air pollution. People react differently to different types of air pollution. Young children and older adults, whose immune systems tend to be weaker, are often more sensitive to pollution. Conditions such as asthma , heart disease, and lung disease can be made worse by exposure to air pollution. The length of exposure and amount and type of pollutants are also factors. Effects On The Environment Like people, animals, and plants, entire ecosystems can suffer effects from air pollution. Haze , like smog, is a visible type of air pollution that obscures shapes and colors. Hazy air pollution can even muffle sounds. Air pollution particles eventually fall back to Earth. Air pollution can directly contaminate the surface of bodies of water and soil . This can kill crops or reduce their yield . It can kill young trees and other plants. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide particles in the air, can create acid rain when they mix with water and oxygen in the atmosphere. These air pollutants come mostly from coal-fired power plants and motor vehicles . When acid rain falls to Earth, it damages plants by changing soil composition ; degrades water quality in rivers, lakes and streams; damages crops; and can cause buildings and monuments to decay . Like humans, animals can suffer health effects from exposure to air pollution. Birth defects, diseases, and lower reproductive rates have all been attributed to air pollution. Global Warming Global warming is an environmental phenomenon caused by natural and anthropogenic air pollution. It refers to rising air and ocean temperatures around the world. This temperature rise is at least partially caused by an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap heat energy in the Earths atmosphere. (Usually, more of Earths heat escapes into space.) Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that has had the biggest effect on global warming. Carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels (coal, gasoline , and natural gas ). Humans have come to rely on fossil fuels to power cars and planes, heat homes, and run factories. Doing these things pollutes the air with carbon dioxide. Other greenhouse gases emitted by natural and artificial sources also include methane , nitrous oxide , and fluorinated gases. Methane is a major emission from coal plants and agricultural processes. Nitrous oxide is a common emission from industrial factories, agriculture, and the burning of fossil fuels in cars. Fluorinated gases, such as hydrofluorocarbons , are emitted by industry. Fluorinated gases are often used instead of gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs have been outlawed in many places because they deplete the ozone layer . Worldwide, many countries have taken steps to reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming. The Kyoto Protocol , first adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, is an agreement between 183 countries that they will work to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. The United States has not signed that treaty . Regulation In addition to the international Kyoto Protocol, most developed nations have adopted laws to regulate emissions and reduce air pollution. In the United States, debate is under way about a system called cap and trade to limit emissions. This system would cap, or place a limit, on the amount of pollution a company is allowed. Companies that exceeded their cap would have to pay. Companies that polluted less than their cap could trade or sell their remaining pollution allowance to other companies. Cap and trade would essentially pay companies to limit pollution. In 2006 the World Health Organization issued new Air Quality Guidelines. The WHOs guidelines are tougher than most individual countries existing guidelines. The WHO guidelines aim to reduce air pollution-related deaths by 15 percent a year. Reduction Anybody can take steps to reduce air pollution. Millions of people every day make simple changes in their lives to do this. Taking public transportation instead of driving a car, or riding a bike instead of traveling in carbon dioxide-emitting vehicles are a couple of ways to reduce air pollution. Avoiding aerosol cans, recycling yard trimmings instead of burning them, and not smoking cigarettes are others.

Downwinders The United States conducted tests of nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada in the 1950s. These tests sent invisible radioactive particles into the atmosphere. These air pollution particles traveled with wind currents, eventually falling to Earth, sometimes hundreds of miles away in states including Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Washington. These areas were considered to be "downwind" from the Nevada Test Site. Decades later, people living in those downwind areascalled "downwinders"began developing cancer at above-normal rates. In 1990, the U.S. government passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. This law entitles some downwinders to payments of $50,000.

Greenhouse Gases There are five major greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere.

• water vapor
• carbon dioxide
• nitrous oxide

London Smog What has come to be known as the London Smog of 1952, or the Great Smog of 1952, was a four-day incident that sickened 100,000 people and caused as many as 12,000 deaths. Very cold weather in December 1952 led residents of London, England, to burn more coal to keep warm. Smoke and other pollutants became trapped by a thick fog that settled over the city. The polluted fog became so thick that people could only see a few meters in front of them.

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What is air pollution?

What causes air pollution, effects of air pollution, air pollution in the united states, air pollution and environmental justice, controlling air pollution, how to help reduce air pollution, how to protect your health.

Air pollution  refers to the release of pollutants into the air—pollutants that are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole. According to the  World Health Organization (WHO) , each year, indoor and outdoor air pollution is responsible for nearly seven million deaths around the globe. Ninety-nine percent of human beings currently breathe air that exceeds the WHO’s guideline limits for pollutants, with those living in low- and middle-income countries suffering the most. In the United States, the  Clean Air Act , established in 1970, authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to safeguard public health by regulating the emissions of these harmful air pollutants.

“Most air pollution comes from energy use and production,” says  John Walke , director of the Clean Air team at NRDC. Driving a car on gasoline, heating a home with oil, running a power plant on  fracked gas : In each case, a fossil fuel is burned and harmful chemicals and gases are released into the air.

“We’ve made progress over the last 50 years in improving air quality in the United States, thanks to the Clean Air Act. But climate change will make it harder in the future to meet pollution standards, which are designed to  protect health ,” says Walke.

Air pollution is now the world’s fourth-largest risk factor for early death. According to the 2020  State of Global Air  report —which summarizes the latest scientific understanding of air pollution around the world—4.5 million deaths were linked to outdoor air pollution exposures in 2019, and another 2.2 million deaths were caused by indoor air pollution. The world’s most populous countries, China and India, continue to bear the highest burdens of disease.

“Despite improvements in reducing global average mortality rates from air pollution, this report also serves as a sobering reminder that the climate crisis threatens to worsen air pollution problems significantly,” explains  Vijay Limaye , senior scientist in NRDC’s Science Office. Smog, for instance, is intensified by increased heat, forming when the weather is warmer and there’s more ultraviolet radiation. In addition, climate change increases the production of allergenic air pollutants, including mold (thanks to damp conditions caused by extreme weather and increased flooding) and pollen (due to a longer pollen season). “Climate change–fueled droughts and dry conditions are also setting the stage for dangerous wildfires,” adds Limaye. “ Wildfire smoke can linger for days and pollute the air with particulate matter hundreds of miles downwind.”

The effects of air pollution on the human body vary, depending on the type of pollutant, the length and level of exposure, and other factors, including a person’s individual health risks and the cumulative impacts of multiple pollutants or stressors.

Smog and soot

These are the two most prevalent types of air pollution. Smog (sometimes referred to as ground-level ozone) occurs when emissions from combusting fossil fuels react with sunlight. Soot—a type of  particulate matter —is made up of tiny particles of chemicals, soil, smoke, dust, or allergens that are carried in the air. The sources of smog and soot are similar. “Both come from cars and trucks, factories, power plants, incinerators, engines, generally anything that combusts fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, or natural gas,” Walke says.

Smog can irritate the eyes and throat and also damage the lungs, especially those of children, senior citizens, and people who work or exercise outdoors. It’s even worse for people who have asthma or allergies; these extra pollutants can intensify their symptoms and trigger asthma attacks. The tiniest airborne particles in soot are especially dangerous because they can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream and worsen bronchitis, lead to heart attacks, and even hasten death. In  2020, a report from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health showed that COVID-19 mortality rates were higher in areas with more particulate matter pollution than in areas with even slightly less, showing a correlation between the virus’s deadliness and long-term exposure to air pollution. 

These findings also illuminate an important  environmental justice issue . Because highways and polluting facilities have historically been sited in or next to low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, the negative effects of this pollution have been  disproportionately experienced by the people who live in these communities.

Hazardous air pollutants

A number of air pollutants pose severe health risks and can sometimes be fatal, even in small amounts. Almost 200 of them are regulated by law; some of the most common are mercury,  lead , dioxins, and benzene. “These are also most often emitted during gas or coal combustion, incineration, or—in the case of benzene—found in gasoline,” Walke says. Benzene, classified as a carcinogen by the EPA, can cause eye, skin, and lung irritation in the short term and blood disorders in the long term. Dioxins, more typically found in food but also present in small amounts in the air, is another carcinogen that can affect the liver in the short term and harm the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems, as well as reproductive functions.  Mercury  attacks the central nervous system. In large amounts, lead can damage children’s brains and kidneys, and even minimal exposure can affect children’s IQ and ability to learn.

Another category of toxic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are by-products of traffic exhaust and wildfire smoke. In large amounts, they have been linked to eye and lung irritation, blood and liver issues, and even cancer.  In one study , the children of mothers exposed to PAHs during pregnancy showed slower brain-processing speeds and more pronounced symptoms of ADHD.

Greenhouse gases

While these climate pollutants don’t have the direct or immediate impacts on the human body associated with other air pollutants, like smog or hazardous chemicals, they are still harmful to our health. By trapping the earth’s heat in the atmosphere, greenhouse gases lead to warmer temperatures, which in turn lead to the hallmarks of climate change: rising sea levels, more extreme weather, heat-related deaths, and the increased transmission of infectious diseases. In 2021, carbon dioxide accounted for roughly 79 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and methane made up more than 11 percent. “Carbon dioxide comes from combusting fossil fuels, and methane comes from natural and industrial sources, including large amounts that are released during oil and gas drilling,” Walke says. “We emit far larger amounts of carbon dioxide, but methane is significantly more potent, so it’s also very destructive.” 

Another class of greenhouse gases,  hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) , are thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in their ability to trap heat. In October 2016, more than 140 countries signed the Kigali Agreement to reduce the use of these chemicals—which are found in air conditioners and refrigerators—and develop greener alternatives over time. (The United States officially signed onto the  Kigali Agreement in 2022.)

Pollen and mold

Mold and allergens from trees, weeds, and grass are also carried in the air, are exacerbated by climate change, and can be hazardous to health. Though they aren’t regulated, they can be considered a form of air pollution. “When homes, schools, or businesses get water damage, mold can grow and produce allergenic airborne pollutants,” says Kim Knowlton, professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University and a former NRDC scientist. “ Mold exposure can precipitate asthma attacks  or an allergic response, and some molds can even produce toxins that would be dangerous for anyone to inhale.”

Pollen allergies are worsening  because of climate change . “Lab and field studies are showing that pollen-producing plants—especially ragweed—grow larger and produce more pollen when you increase the amount of carbon dioxide that they grow in,” Knowlton says. “Climate change also extends the pollen production season, and some studies are beginning to suggest that ragweed pollen itself might be becoming a more potent allergen.” If so, more people will suffer runny noses, fevers, itchy eyes, and other symptoms. “And for people with allergies and asthma, pollen peaks can precipitate asthma attacks, which are far more serious and can be life-threatening.”

More than one in three U.S. residents—120 million people—live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the  2023  State of the Air  report by the American Lung Association (ALA). Since the annual report was first published, in 2000, its findings have shown how the Clean Air Act has been able to reduce harmful emissions from transportation, power plants, and manufacturing.

Recent findings, however, reflect how climate change–fueled wildfires and extreme heat are adding to the challenges of protecting public health. The latest report—which focuses on ozone, year-round particle pollution, and short-term particle pollution—also finds that people of color are 61 percent more likely than white people to live in a county with a failing grade in at least one of those categories, and three times more likely to live in a county that fails in all three.

In rankings for each of the three pollution categories covered by the ALA report, California cities occupy the top three slots (i.e., were highest in pollution), despite progress that the Golden State has made in reducing air pollution emissions in the past half century. At the other end of the spectrum, these cities consistently rank among the country’s best for air quality: Burlington, Vermont; Honolulu; and Wilmington, North Carolina. 

No one wants to live next door to an incinerator, oil refinery, port, toxic waste dump, or other polluting site. Yet millions of people around the world do, and this puts them at a much higher risk for respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, neurological damage, cancer, and death. In the United States, people of color are 1.5 times more likely than whites to live in areas with poor air quality, according to the ALA.

Historically, racist zoning policies and discriminatory lending practices known as  redlining  have combined to keep polluting industries and car-choked highways away from white neighborhoods and have turned communities of color—especially low-income and working-class communities of color—into sacrifice zones, where residents are forced to breathe dirty air and suffer the many health problems associated with it. In addition to the increased health risks that come from living in such places, the polluted air can economically harm residents in the form of missed workdays and higher medical costs.

Environmental racism isn't limited to cities and industrial areas. Outdoor laborers, including the estimated three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States, are among the most vulnerable to air pollution—and they’re also among the least equipped, politically, to pressure employers and lawmakers to affirm their right to breathe clean air.

Recently,  cumulative impact mapping , which uses data on environmental conditions and demographics, has been able to show how some communities are overburdened with layers of issues, like high levels of poverty, unemployment, and pollution. Tools like the  Environmental Justice Screening Method  and the EPA’s  EJScreen  provide evidence of what many environmental justice communities have been explaining for decades: that we need land use and public health reforms to ensure that vulnerable areas are not overburdened and that the people who need resources the most are receiving them.

In the United States, the  Clean Air Act  has been a crucial tool for reducing air pollution since its passage in 1970, although fossil fuel interests aided by industry-friendly lawmakers have frequently attempted to  weaken its many protections. Ensuring that this bedrock environmental law remains intact and properly enforced will always be key to maintaining and improving our air quality.

But the best, most effective way to control air pollution is to speed up our transition to cleaner fuels and industrial processes. By switching over to renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power), maximizing fuel efficiency in our vehicles, and replacing more and more of our gasoline-powered cars and trucks with electric versions, we'll be limiting air pollution at its source while also curbing the global warming that heightens so many of its worst health impacts.

And what about the economic costs of controlling air pollution? According to a report on the Clean Air Act commissioned by NRDC, the annual  benefits of cleaner air  are up to 32 times greater than the cost of clean air regulations. Those benefits include up to 370,000 avoided premature deaths, 189,000 fewer hospital admissions for cardiac and respiratory illnesses, and net economic benefits of up to $3.8 trillion for the U.S. economy every year.

“The less gasoline we burn, the better we’re doing to reduce air pollution and the harmful effects of climate change,” Walke explains. “Make good choices about transportation. When you can, ride a bike, walk, or take public transportation. For driving, choose a car that gets better miles per gallon of gas or  buy an electric car .” You can also investigate your power provider options—you may be able to request that your electricity be supplied by wind or solar. Buying your food locally cuts down on the fossil fuels burned in trucking or flying food in from across the world. And most important: “Support leaders who push for clean air and water and responsible steps on climate change,” Walke says.

• “When you see in the news or hear on the weather report that pollution levels are high, it may be useful to limit the time when children go outside or you go for a jog,” Walke says. Generally, ozone levels tend to be lower in the morning.
• If you exercise outside, stay as far as you can from heavily trafficked roads. Then shower and wash your clothes to remove fine particles.
• The air may look clear, but that doesn’t mean it’s pollution free. Utilize tools like the EPA’s air pollution monitor,  AirNow , to get the latest conditions. If the air quality is bad, stay inside with the windows closed.
• If you live or work in an area that’s prone to wildfires,  stay away from the harmful smoke  as much as you’re able. Consider keeping a small stock of masks to wear when conditions are poor. The most ideal masks for smoke particles will be labelled “NIOSH” (which stands for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and have either “N95” or “P100” printed on it.
• If you’re using an air conditioner while outdoor pollution conditions are bad, use the recirculating setting to limit the amount of polluted air that gets inside. 

This story was originally published on November 1, 2016, and has been updated with new information and links.

This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can’t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can’t republish our material wholesale or automatically—you need to select stories individually; you can’t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you’ve used one of our stories.

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by Chris Woodford . Last updated: November 22, 2022.

Photo: Air pollution is obvious when it pours from a smokestack (chimney), but it's not always so easy to spot. This is an old photo of the kind of smoke that used to come from coal-fired power plants and, apart from soot (unburned carbon particles), its pollutants include sulfur dioxide and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Thanks to tougher pollution controls, modern power plants produce only a fraction as much pollution. Modern pollution made by traffic consists of gases like nitrogen dioxide and "particulates" (microscopic soot and dust fragments) that are largely invisible.

What is air pollution?

Air pollution is a gas (or a liquid or solid dispersed through ordinary air) released in a big enough quantity to harm the health of people or other animals, kill plants or stop them growing properly, damage or disrupt some other aspect of the environment (such as making buildings crumble), or cause some other kind of nuisance (reduced visibility, perhaps, or an unpleasant odor).

Natural air pollution

Photo: Forest fires are a completely natural cause of air pollution. We'll never be able to prevent them breaking out or stop the pollution they cause; our best hope is to manage forests, where we can, so fires don't spread. Ironically, that can mean deliberately burning areas of forest, as shown here, to create firebreaks. Forests are also deliberately burned to regenerate ecosystems. Photo by courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service .

Top-ten kinds of air pollution Photo: Flying molecules—if you could see air pollution close up, this is what it would look like. Image courtesy of US Department of Energy. Any gas could qualify as pollution if it reached a high enough concentration to do harm. Theoretically, that means there are dozens of different pollution gases. It's important to note that not all the things we think of as pollution are gases: some are aerosols (liquids or solids dispersed through gases). In practice, about ten different substances cause most concern: Sulfur dioxide : Coal, petroleum, and other fuels are often impure and contain sulfur as well as organic (carbon-based) compounds. When sulfur (spelled "sulphur" in some countries) burns with oxygen from the air, sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) is produced. Coal-fired power plants are the world's biggest source of sulfur-dioxide air pollution, which contributes to smog, acid rain, and health problems that include lung disease. [5] Large amounts of sulfur dioxide are also produced by ships, which use dirtier diesel fuel than cars and trucks. [6] Carbon monoxide : This highly dangerous gas forms when fuels have too little oxygen to burn completely. It spews out in car exhausts and it can also build up to dangerous levels inside your home if you have a poorly maintained gas boiler , stove, or fuel-burning appliance. (Always fit a carbon monoxide detector if you burn fuels indoors.) [7] Carbon dioxide : This gas is central to everyday life and isn't normally considered a pollutant: we all produce it when we breathe out and plants such as crops and trees need to "breathe" it in to grow. However, carbon dioxide is also a greenhouse gas released by engines and power plants. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, it's been building up in Earth's atmosphere and contributing to the problem of global warming and climate change . [8] Nitrogen oxides : Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and nitrogen oxide (NO) are pollutants produced as an indirect result of combustion, when nitrogen and oxygen from the air react together. Nitrogen oxide pollution comes from vehicle engines and power plants, and plays an important role in the formation of acid rain, ozone and smog. Nitrogen oxides are also "indirect greenhouse gases" (they contribute to global warming by producing ozone, which is a greenhouse gas). [9] Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) : These carbon-based (organic) chemicals evaporate easily at ordinary temperatures and pressures, so they readily become gases. That's precisely why they're used as solvents in many different household chemicals such as paints , waxes, and varnishes. Unfortunately, they're also a form of air pollution: they're believed to have long-term (chronic) effects on people's health and they play a role in the formation of ozone and smog. VOCs are also released by tobacco smoke and wildfires. [10] Particulates : There are many different kinds of particulates, from black soot in diesel exhaust to dust and organic matter from the desert. Airborne liquid droplets from farm pollution also count as particulates. Particulates of different sizes are often referred to by the letters PM followed by a number, so PM 10 means soot particles of less than 10 microns (10 millionths of a meter or 10µm in diameter, roughly 10 times thinner than a thick human hair). The smaller ("finer") the particulates, the deeper they travel into our lungs and the more dangerous they are. PM 2.5 particulates are much more dangerous (they're less than 2.5 millionths of a meter or about 40 times thinner than a typical hair). In cities, most particulates come from traffic fumes. [11] Ozone : Also called trioxygen, this is a type of oxygen gas whose molecules are made from three oxygen atoms joined together (so it has the chemical formula O 3 ), instead of just the two atoms in conventional oxygen (O 2 ). In the stratosphere (upper atmosphere), a band of ozone ("the ozone layer") protects us by screening out harmful ultraviolet radiation (high-energy blue light) beaming down from the Sun. At ground level, it's a toxic pollutant that can damage health. It forms when sunlight strikes a cocktail of other pollution and is a key ingredient of smog (see box below). [12] Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) : Once thought to be harmless, these gases were widely used in refrigerators and aerosol cans until it was discovered that they damaged Earth's ozone layer. We discuss this in more detail down below. [13] Unburned hydrocarbons : Petroleum and other fuels are made of organic compounds based on chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. When they burn properly, they're completely converted into harmless carbon dioxide and water ; when they burn incompletely, they can release carbon monoxide or float into the air in their unburned form, contributing to smog. Lead and heavy metals : Lead and other toxic "heavy metals" can be spread into the air either as toxic compounds or as aerosols (when solids or liquids are dispersed through gases and carried through the air by them) in such things as exhaust fumes and the fly ash (contaminated waste dust) from incinerator smokestacks. [14] What are the causes of air pollution?

Photo: Even in the age of electric cars, traffic remains a major cause of air pollution. Photo by Warren Gretz courtesy of US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (NREL photo id#46361).

Photo: Brown smog lingers over Denver, Colorado. Photo by Warren Gretz courtesy of US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (NREL photo id#56919).

Chart: Most of the world's major cities routinely exceed World Health Organization (WHO) air pollution guidelines, though progress is being made: you can see that the 2022 figures (green) show a marked improvement on the 2016 ones (orange) in almost every case. This chart compares annual mean PM 2.5 levels in 12 representative cities around the world with the recently revised (2021) WHO guideline value of 5μg per cubic meter (dotted line). PM 2.5 particulates are those smaller than 2.5 microns and believed to be most closely linked with adverse health effects. For more about this chart and the data sources used, see note [22] .

Photo: Smokestacks billowing pollution over Moscow, Russia in 1994. Factory pollution is much less of a problem than it used to be in the world's "richer" countries—partly because a lot of their industry has been exported to nations such as China, India, and Mexico. Photo by Roger Taylor courtesy of US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) .

What effects does air pollution have?

Photo: Air pollution can cause a variety of lung diseases and other respiratory problems. This chest X ray shows a lung disease called emphysema in the patient's left lung. A variety of things can cause it, including smoking and exposure to air pollution. Photo courtesy of National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Institutes of Health.

" In 2016, 91% of the world population was living in places where the WHO air quality guidelines levels were not met." World Health Organization , 2018

Photo: For many years, the stonework on the Parthenon in Athens, Greece has been blackened by particulates from traffic pollution, but other sources of pollution, such as wood-burning stoves, are increasingly significant. Photo by Michael M. Reddy courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey .

How air pollution works on different scales

Indoor air pollution.

Photo: Air freshener—or air polluter?

Further reading

Acid rain—a closer look.

Photo: Acid rain can turn lakes so acidic that fish no longer survive. Picture courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Public Affairs. Why does that matter? Pure water is neither acidic nor alkaline but completely neutral (we say it has an acidity level or pH of 7.0). Ordinary rainwater is a little bit more acidic than this with about the same acidity as bananas (roughly pH 5.5), but if rain falls through sulfur dioxide pollution it can turn much more acidic (with a pH of 4.5 or lower, which is the same acidity as orange or lemon juice). When acid rain accumulates in lakes or rivers, it gradually turns the entire water more acidic. That's a real problem because fish thrive only in water that is neutral or slightly acidic (typically with a pH of 6.5–7.0). Once the acidity drops below about pH 6.0, fish soon start to die—and if the pH drops to about 4.0 or less, all the fish will be killed. Acid rain has caused major problems in lakes throughout North America and Europe. It also causes the death of forests, reduces the fertility of soil, and damages buildings by eating away stonework (the marble on the US Capitol in Washington, DC has been eroded by acid-rain, for example). One of the biggest difficulties in tackling acid rain is that it can happen over very long distances. In one notable case, sulfur dioxide air pollution produced by power plants in the UK was blamed for causing acid rain that fell on Scandinavian countries such as Norway, producing widespread damage to forests and the deaths of thousands of fish in acidified lakes. The British government refused to acknowledge the problem and that was partly why the UK became known as the "dirty man of Europe" in the 1980s and 1990s. [18] Acid rain was a particular problem in the last 30–40 years of the 20th century. Thanks to the decline in coal-fired power plants, and the sulfur dioxide they spewed out, it's less of a problem for western countries today. But it's still a big issue in places like India, where coal remains a major source of energy. Global air pollution It's hard to imagine doing anything so dramatic and serious that it would damage our entire, enormous planet—but, remarkable though it may seem, we all do things like this everyday, contributing to problems such as global warming and the damage to the ozone layer (two separate issues that are often confused). Global warming Every time you ride in a car, turn on the lights, switch on your TV , take a shower, microwave a meal, or use energy that's come from burning a fossil fuel such as oil, coal, or natural gas, you're almost certainly adding to the problem of global warming and climate change: unless it's been produced in some environmentally friendly way, the energy you're using has most likely released carbon dioxide gas into the air. While it's not an obvious pollutant, carbon dioxide has gradually built up in the atmosphere, along with other chemicals known as greenhouse gases . Together, these gases act a bit like a blanket surrounding our planet that is slowly making the mean global temperature rise, causing the climate (the long-term pattern of our weather) to change, and producing a variety of different effects on the natural world, including rising sea levels. Read more in our main article about global warming and climate change . Ozone holes

How can we solve the problem of air pollution?

Photo: Pollution solution: an electrostatic smoke precipitator helps to prevent air pollution from this smokestack at the McNeil biomass power plant in Burlington, VT. Photo by Warren Gretz courtesy of US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

What can you do to help reduce air pollution?

Photo: Buying organic food reduces the use of sprayed pesticides and other chemicals, so it helps to reduce air (as well as water) pollution.

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Find out more, on this site.

• Climate change and global warming
• Environmentalism (introduction)
• Land pollution
• Organic food and farming
• Renewable energy
• Water pollution

• Breathless: Why Air Pollution Matters—and How it Affects You by Chris Woodford. Icon, 2021. My new book explores the problem in much more depth than I've been able to go into here. You can also read a bonus chapter called Angels with dirty faces: How air pollution blackens our buildings and monuments .
• The Invisible Killer: The Rising Global Threat of Air Pollution and How We Can Fight Back by Gary Fuller. Melville House, 2018.
• Reducing Pollution and Waste by Jen Green. Raintree/Capstone, 2011. A 48-page introduction for ages 9–12. The emphasis here is on getting children to think about pollution: where it comes from, who makes it, and who should solve the problem.
• Pollution Crisis by Russ Parker. Rosen, 2009. A 32-page guide for ages 8–10. It starts with a global survey of the problem; looks at air, water, and land pollution; then considers how we all need to be part of the solution.
• Earth Matters by Lynn Dicks et al. Dorling Kindersley, 2008. This isn't specifically about pollution. Instead, it explores how a range of different environmental problems are testing life to the limit in the planet's major biomes (oceans, forests, and so on). I wrote the section of this book that covers the polar regions.
• State of Global Air : One of the best sources of global air pollution data.
• American Lung Association: State of the Air Report : A good source of data about the United States.
• European Environment Agency: Air quality in Europe : A definitive overview of the situation in the European countries.
• World Health Organization (WHO) Ambient (outdoor) air pollution in cities database : A spreadsheet of pollution data for most major cities in the world (a little out of date, but a new version is expected soon).
• Our World in Data : Accessible guides to global data from Oxford University.
• The New York Times Topics: Air Pollution
• The Guardian: Pollution
• Wired: Pollution
• 'Invisible killer': fossil fuels caused 8.7m deaths globally in 2018, research finds by Oliver Milman. The Guardian, February 9, 2021. Pollution of various kinds causes something like one in five of all deaths.
• Millions of masks distributed to students in 'gas chamber' Delhi : BBC News, 1 November 2019.
• 90% of world's children are breathing toxic air, WHO study finds by Matthew Taylor. The Guardian, October 29, 2018. The air pollution affecting billions of children could continue to harm their health throughout their lives.
• Pollution May Dim Thinking Skills, Study in China Suggests by Mike Ives. The New York Times, August 29, 2018. Long-term exposure to air pollution seems to cause a decline in cognitive skills.
• Global pollution kills 9m a year and threatens 'survival of human societies' by Damian Carrington. The Guardian, October 19, 2017. Air, water, and land pollution kill millions, cost trillions, and threaten the very survival of humankind, a new study reveals.
• India's Air Pollution Rivals China's as World's Deadliest by Geeta Anand. The New York Times, February 14, 2017. High levels of pollution could be killing 1.1 million Indians each year.
• More Than 9 in 10 People Breathe Bad Air, WHO Study Says by Mike Ives. The New York Times, September 27, 2016. New WHO figures suggest the vast majority of us are compromising our health by breathing bad air.
• Study Links 6.5 Million Deaths Each Year to Air Pollution by Stanley Reed. The New York Times, June 26, 2016. Air pollution deaths are far greater than previously supposed according to a new study by the International Energy Agency.
• UK air pollution 'linked to 40,000 early deaths a year' by Michelle Roberts, BBC News, February 23, 2016. Diesel engines, cigarette smoke, and even air fresheners are among the causes of premature death from air pollution.
• This Wearable Detects Pollution to Build Air Quality Maps in Real Time by Davey Alba. Wired, November 19, 2014. A wearable pollution gadget lets people track their exposure to air pollution through a smartphone app.
• Air pollution and public health: emerging hazards and improved understanding of risk by Frank J. Kelly and Julia C. Fussell, Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 2015
• Health effects of fine particulate air pollution: lines that connect by C.A. Pope and D.W. Dockery. Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, 2006
• Ambient and household air pollution: complex triggers of disease by Stephen A. Farmer et al, Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, 2014

Text copyright © Chris Woodford 2010, 2022. All rights reserved. Full copyright notice and terms of use .

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Table of contents.

To live, we need to breathe. To breathe, we need fresh air. Fresh air is one of the basic and essential things we need to live on earth. Fresh air is equally important to every one us as food and water. Even plants need oxygen to convert food into energy. From these things, we can understand the importance of oxygen and fresh air. A place without oxygen will be a dead zone with no humans, animals, and plants. Without oxygen, nobody can survive on earth.

All these facts point the fingers at the importance of keeping air pollution-free. But the truth is, the air is getting polluted at a massive rate every day. There are hundreds of causes. In these, there are some which are very harmful to us. But how can we reduce the rate of air pollution? Well, there are different ways that we could try to stop air pollution. Before that, let us find out what are the utmost causes of air pollution. Here are they. 

What Do We Mean By Air Pollution?

It’s simple. Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants into the air like Nitrogen Oxide, Volatile Organic Compounds, Carbon Dioxide, Sulphur Oxide, dioxins, and other harmful gases. Once these gases are released, they become a colossal threat to the environment and human health.

How Do We Know the Quality of Air?

The purity of air measured using an AQI thermometer that runs on a scale from 0 to 500. The AQI refers to Air Quality Index. It measures how pure or polluted the surrounding air is. If the numeric value on the scale is between 0-50, the quality of the surrounding air is considered healthy and satisfactory. As the values increase, the quality of the air decreases. If AQI is showing a value of 500, that means you are standing in a hazardous surrounding. Have a look at the AQI chart below for more details.

Major Causes Of Air Pollution

It is well known to everyone how air pollution happens. It happens in many ways. Sometimes careless and reckless human activities lead to the major reasons for air pollution. Even though, here are some of the common causes of air pollution.

Burning of Plastic Wastes.

How do we avoid plastics from our houses? Either we throw them or light them up, right? These careless acts will lead to the worst pollution ever. Burning them releases toxic gases like dioxins, furans, mercury, and polychlorinated. These gases are a threat to the atmosphere, vegetation, humans, and animal health. If we throw them out, they can remain in the soil for 20-500 years before fully decomposing based on the material and structure. Over these years, it pollutes the soil and harms the earth. 

So, burning and throwing plastic does not work and leads to air pollution or soil pollution in the long term perspective. Then what will we do? Well, we can recycle and reuse plastic to an extent. But once the plastic is melted and reformed into new products, the quality of plastic gets reduced. In addition, the quality of plastic will keep reducing with every successive recycling. Furthermore, recycling is limited to a number 3 or 4 times because of the quality compromise of plastic. 

In fact, we only have a limited number of opportunities in the case of plastic. Either we reduce the use of plastic or recycle and reuse them as much as we can. 

Limiting the use of plastic seems more practical and smooth in our day-to-day life. There are many instances where we can reduce the use of plastic. Here are some of the tracts where we can instantly act to limit the usages of plastic

• Use cloth bags instead of plastics bags while going to the shops.
• Use paper plates and tumblers instead of plastic ones when you arrange a tea party or get-togethers. 
• Use paper straws in restaurants and coffee shops.
• Use paper bottled soft drinks.

There are more and more situations where we can reduce the unnecessary use of plastic covers and materials. It can turn out well when more people come forward with the same mindset of bringing down plastic use. 

Are there any alternatives for plastic?

Yes, there are. But literally, there are no materials with the exact matching properties with plastic. For instance, properties like durability, strength, water-resistant, lightweight, and inexpensive are rare to find in materials without polymer as an ingredient. Scientists and researchers are trying to formulate materials with the matching properties as plastic but with less pollution.

As said earlier, there are many instances where we can reduce the use of plastic and always try to avoid it as much as we can. Even if they are baby steps towards reducing plastic, take it and help our environment. Moreover, be a part of keeping the city and your premises clean.

Industrial Emission

Industries play a colossal role in all kinds of pollutions. They contribute almost one-third to the overall when we compare industrial pollution with other causes. Industries will be the 2nd largest cause of air pollution, water pollution, and sound pollution. Pollutants like carbon monoxide, Nitrogen dioxide, and Sulfur dioxide are released when they operate factories and industries. The volume of pollutants released into the atmosphere is way more than we imagine and the problems they can make are huge.

It is necessary to know where the pollution happens and who pollutes the air the most. Studies say that industries that produce electricity pollute the atmosphere more than any other industry.

A considerable amount of pollutants is kicked from the industries when the continuous burning of fossil fuels happened. These emitted gases make the most of the troubles to the ozone layer and cause ozone layer depletion. We need both electricity and the earth. We can not avoid one or the other for any reason. The only way is to protect both without harming each other. The only solution for this will be the rise of green energy. Only the challenge facing is the continuous supply of energy. Green energy like solar and wind are very cost-effective and pollution-free when comparing to the traditional ones.

Each and every individual can contribute and can be a part of saving the earth from air pollution and global warming. Switch to green energy as much as we can and reduce the consumption of traditional electricity from the government or private companies. Nowadays, everybody has inverters in the home as a standard facility. It will not cost you much to connect 2 or 3 solar panels to the battery and save 60% power usage from the traditional electric supply.

How can we reduce industrial air pollution?

As we said earlier, industries and factories are essential for the growth of the people and nation. We can’t stop factories in the name of air pollution. What we can do is, we can find some ways to reduce the amount of air pollution. For instance, we should try to convert these harmful gases to regular gases with the help of proper techniques and setups.

Most importantly, people living near industrial areas are very likely to have many allergies and lung diseases. Always wear a mask when you are going out or going near industrial and factory areas. If you are working in an industrial area, always wear a mask and other safety gear to ensure maximum safety.

Wildfires can take place at any time. It is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire caused by lightning strikes. As the name says, it occurs largely in forest areas. Mostly, the lighting strikes on the trees, branches, dry grass, and then the fire is generated. Eventually, this fire will spread to other trees, branches, and grasses and becomes wildfires, and causes air pollution.

Wildfires are common forested areas of the United States and Canada. It is one of the causes of air pollution, deforestation, and animal extinction. In a wildfire, many animals lose their lives and shelter. Some get burns and wounds in the running through the wildfire. 

All these will continue until fire settles down. Sometimes it takes 2-3 days to settle down completely. But in the end, we lose animals, trees, the environment, and what not?

Also, sometimes the causes of wildfire can be different. Sometimes it happens due to the carelessness of people living around the forest. For instance, even trash burning and campfires can spread fire if not concerned well. So it is always recommended to take precautions while doing wildfire potential activities.

Wildfires get worse when unattended. If you notice any fires or burns that need attention, call the authorities. Sometimes the fire can be controlled before getting worse.

Transportation

Transportation holds a neck-to-neck position with industries in the rate of air pollution. As we all know, the number of vehicles on the road is increasing day by day. Just look around, we could see houses with more than three vehicles even if they don’t need all of them. As the number of vehicles increases, the rate of pollution also tends to be increased. Old model vehicles are more likely to produce more pollution than new ones. Because when the vehicles get older and older, the amount of carbon emission increases. The rate of pollution is still on the rise even after the government and authorities made pollution laws strict. 

Every country has its own vehicle emission standards or norms for the safety of the environment and people living in the country. But still, transportation holds the position for the majority of air pollutions happening around the world.

How can we reduce pollution caused by vehicles?

Earlier, it was challenging to find an alternative for fuels like petrol or diesel. Right now, technology has improved – researchers found a better alternative solution for the petrol and diesel engines for automobiles. Yes, they are EV’s. Electric vehicles are completely different from traditional vehicles. They are pollution-free and highly efficient than fuel engines. Electric vehicles can be charged from the house or charging stations in and around the city. EV’s have 5x efficiency more than the regular diesel or petrol-fueled automobiles and 4x lesser reduced pollution.

EV’s are on the rise. By 2025, at least 50% of the new vehicles coming out from the factories will be electric vehicles. It will seriously help to reduce the rate of pollution to some extend. People will switch to EV’s when companies launch better models with luxury and comfort.

It may sound crazy to most of us. But think about walking a little every day and avoid taking cars or bikes for smaller distances. Or, use a bicycle to travel nearby. It will help us to improve both our health and the earth’s health.

What are the health issues due to air pollution?

The quality of the air we breathe is very crucial. Poor quality can cause many health diseases in both adults and kids. Especially to the people living in cities, the chances of getting a disease like heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory infections are very high.

Long-term exposure to polluted air in kids can lead to loss of lung capacity, asthma and emphysema. In addition, senior citizens are more likely to get allergies and breathing difficulties since they are less immune to the conditions. As a precaution to all of these, we can wear a mask while going out and traveling. If you are living in a highly polluted area, consider buying an air purifier for your home. An air purifier can help to improve the quality of air by filtering and thereby enabling a healthy environment inside our home for everyone.

How does air pollution affect environmental health?

The toxic gases also affect the environment in the same way. As the amount of harmful gases increases in the earth, the uncertainty of the environment’s health also increases. Changes in climates like temperature hikes, monsoon pattern shifts, and unexpected cyclones are a few examples. In these, ozone layer depletion is being the most complicated one.

We already know what is an ozone layer, and whats does it do? Let’s recall them for a while. The ozone layer is a part of the earth’s atmosphere, and it absorbs almost all of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet light. Guess what will happen when the ozone layer gets holes. All the harmful rays will fall into the animals, plants, and people on earth through the ozone layer holes. Studies say that by 2064 the ozone layer concentration levels may come to zero if the rate of pollution continues invariably. If that happens, the earth will not be a suitable place to live. The fun factor is, we don’t have any space other than earth to live right now. So, we have to protect the planet from being a desert.

Day by day, the rate of pollution is increasing. The hard truth is, nobody is really caring about the future of our planet. Even the government and authorities are keeping their eyes closed on social issues like global warming, air pollution, and soil erosion. If it keeps going like this, the earth will become uninhabitable.

Protecting the earth from pollutions is not deputed on somebody else. Each one of us should take responsibility and behave sensibly to protect the earth from pollution.

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Reducing Air Pollution Is Always A Good Thing, But How Good Has It Really Been?

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Reducing air pollution is a universally acknowledged goal, heralded for its potential to improve public health and environmental quality. However, amidst the enthusiasm for cleaner air, a critical question emerges: How effective have our efforts truly been?

I recently wrote about mortality changes following inadvertent increases in air pollution exposure and found increases in short but not long-term rates. My underlying assumption was one of linearity: if increasing emissions hurts, then equivalent decreases must help. But have they?  

“There is consistent evidence that decreased air pollution levels following an intervention resulted in health benefits for the assessed population.” – The EPA

As I have written, statistical associations do not comprise “evidence.” Evidence requires that measured inputs to the system (emissions) be compared with measured outputs (health benefits), and studies rarely performed. However, there are multiple examples and discussions of various air pollution control programs to estimate putative benefits to public health. I chose premature mortality as the indicator of all public health outcomes because of its availability and data reliability.

Responses to air pollution are sensitive to timing and duration of exposures; ambient air quality standards have followed suit. Twenty-four-hour average standards are intended to protect against peak exposures and acute health effects such as asthma or heart attacks. Annual standards are designed to protect against the development of chronic diseases like cancer or heart disease that might have been exacerbated by exposures over years or decades.

But these assumptions comport poorly in the real world. Peak episodes tend to be distributed over a week or so, and acute responses should be similarly considered. By contrast, chronic diseases develop slowly in response to cumulative processes. Long-term health effects should be considered in terms of cumulative exposures, e.g., smoking has been characterized in terms of pack-years. Searching for current evidence of air pollution control benefits must recognize those realities. Today’s lung cancer began with carcinogens inhaled decades ago, and the development of COPD or congestive heart failure is similarly delayed. Seeking to characterize long-term health benefits in terms of today’s environmental controls is thus a fool’s errand.

Mechanisms of long-term relief from air pollution are multifaceted and include:

• Fuel changes, i.e., switching from coal to gas firing or reducing fuel sulfur content, may have little effect on nitrogen oxide emissions and, thus, on ozone production.
• Source shutdowns, i.e., retiring a power plant, may increase emissions from others to meet demands.
• COVID lockdowns reduced outdoor emissions but increased exposures to indoor pollutants.

Examples of long-term reductions

• The use of coal was banned in Ireland beginning in 1995, and effects on mortality were reported in several studies, of which the most comprehensive reported a modest decrease in respiratory mortality but not total or cardiovascular. 
• Hong Kong restricted the sulfur content of fuels in 1990, after which average ambient SO 2 dropped by 45%. Health effects were studied by time-series analysis and reported , “The results offered little hope for estimating effects on life expectancy…”
• Smoke from woodstoves was reduced in Launceston, Australia, in 2001, after which winter PM 2.5 dropped from 44 µg/m 3 from 1994-2000 to 27 µg/m 3 from 2001-2007. Annual mortality fell by 11%, but only for males.

Short-term abatement strategies

• Stricter air pollution controls were imposed to reduce athletes’ exposure during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Improvements in air quality were modest, and no public health benefits were reported.
• Several cities experimented with limiting vehicular traffic in congested areas. This strategy can offer better air quality for a few hours each workday over relatively small parts of metropolitan areas; no health benefits have been reported .
• COVID lockdowns reduced traffic-related air pollution, but the number of individuals exposed outdoors also decreased. Exposures to indoor sources and electricity demand increased, resulting in trade-offs. The reduced mortality benefit was estimated at 0.3%.

Temporary shutdowns

• A regional electrical blackout occurred in the Northeastern US from August 14-15. Mortality and respiratory hospital admissions in creased 2-8 fold after accounting for heat effects, but cardiovascular and renal hospitalizations did not. “Increased deaths were advanced more than a few days, and mortality risk remained elevated through the month.”  Although power station emissions dropped to zero, there could have been local effects from private generators.

In today’s clean environment, it is challenging to improve air quality enough to detect associated long-term changes in public health. For example, 167 New Yorkers died each day in 2020. For a pollution-related mortality rate of 5%, 8 of them would have been at risk from air pollution, but which 8? Data on age, race, gender, smoking, income, and housing would be required for each decedent to analyze long-term benefits. This illustrates fundamental difficulties in the epidemiology of long-term weak effects .  

The overall message is that significant long-term mortality reductions have not been identified after implementing various emission reductions. There are several possible explanations:

• The reduced exposures were below the threshold of effect.
• Reduced exposures did not follow decreasing emissions.
• The most critical pollutants were not affected.
• Disease latency was not considered.
• Some pollutants may have increased while others decreased. 
• Resulting changes in behavior were more important.

I will leave the last word to the current curator of all knowledge, ChatGPT:

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Air Quality Index Analysis (AQI)

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