The Great Smog of 1952 was a severe air pollution event that affected the British capital in early December 1952. A period of unusually cold weather combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants to form a thick layer of smog. It lasted from Friday 5 December to Tuesday 9 December 1952, then dispersed quickly when the weather changed. It caused major disruption by reducing visibility and even penetrating indoor areas.
About Great Smog of London in brief
The Great Smog of 1952 was a severe air pollution event that affected the British capital in early December 1952. A period of unusually cold weather combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants to form a thick layer of smog over the city. It lasted from Friday 5 December to Tuesday 9 December 1952, then dispersed quickly when the weather changed. It caused major disruption by reducing visibility and even penetrating indoor areas, far more severely than previous smog events, called \”pea-soupers\”. Government medical reports in the following weeks estimated that up to 8 December, 4,000 people had died as a direct result of the smog and 100,000 more were made ill by its effects on the human respiratory tract.
London has suffered since the 13th century from poor air quality and this worsened in the 1600s. It led to several changes in practices and regulations, including the Clean Air Act 1956. In the weeks that ensued, London was infamous for its fog, and it was not widely available until later in the 1950s that chemists were able to purchase them from chemists for £1.50 each. The presence of tarry particles of soot gave the Smog its yellow-black colour, hence the nickname ‘Pea-Souper’. The event is thought to be the worstAir pollution event in the history of the United Kingdom, and the most significant for its effect on environmental research, government regulation, and public awareness.
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This page is based on the article Great Smog of London published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
