The earth has certainly transformed in the last century and not for the better either. Thanks to industrialization and the fact that several industries continue pumping toxic chemicals into the atmosphere, it has indeed become a lot harder to breathe, especially in densely populated locations. From pumping vast amounts of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere it has had a visible impact on society itself.
With more respiratory diseases being diagnosed, air pollution has been identified to be one of the causative factors behind the current outbreak. In fact, it is during winter that things get really bad as most of the air pollution turns into a chemical cocktail and descends on the city in the form of a haze, making the whole city, unlivable. It is time that we took a closer look at some of the negative effects of air pollution
Long exposure to air pollution can result in your health taking a beating.
Irritation of the mucous membrane: Long exposure to air pollution can cause you to experience everything from irritation of the nose, eyes and throat. It can cause your eyes to well up, as well as nausea and bouts of a severe headache. If you do not take care, it can even lead you to experience issues like bronchitis.
Cancer: Air pollution is also one of the contributing factors behind the sudden spurt in lung and respiratory cancer, especially in cities across China. China which currently leads the list when it comes to the most polluted city on earth has to face prolonged smog conditions, come winter. And as the smog is but a chemical cocktail, it has a long-term impact on your health. Several studies have pointed out that air pollution is one of the main culprits behind the sudden increase in cancer cases pan-China.
Acid rain: As more greenhouse gases from sulfur dioxide to carbon monoxide build up in the atmosphere, they interact with the nitrogen gases already present in the atmosphere. As a result of the interaction, they later fall down as acid rain, and as the name implies, acid rain can effectively destroy food crops.
Global warming: As the greenhouses build up in the atmosphere, they help to increase the mean temperature of the earth. This, in turn, impacts the current weather directly, and help melt both the polar caps at a fast pace. This, in turn, will help to increase the current sea level by as much as 60 feet which means that most, if not all the coastal cities will be inundated.
Ozone depletion: Ozone plays a critical role by blocking all forms of radiation and without this ozone layer; we would be at the mercy of cosmic radiation. Unfortunately, these greenhouse gases seem to be interacting with the ozone layer and depleting the same.
These are some of the associated side effects of air pollution. This is why you may want to take care when you are planning to head out – make sure that you are wearing the right gear, including an all purpose mask
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