SMOG
Smog is a type of air pollutant. The word "smog" derives its origin from smoke and fog. It refers to smoky fog, its opacity, and odour. This kind of visible air pollution is composed of nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, ozone, smoke or particulates among others (less visible pollutants include carbon monoxide, CFCs and radioactive sources). Human-made smog is derived from coal emissions, vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, forest and agricultural fires and photochemical reactions of these emissions.
Modern smog is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog. In cities such as Delhi, smog severity is often aggravated by stubble burning in neighbouring agricultural areas. It is usually highly toxic to humans and can cause severe sickness, shortened life or death.
Causes
Coal
Coal fires, used to heat individual buildings or in a power-producing plant, can emit significant clouds of smoke that contributes to smog. London, in particular, was notorious up through the mid-20th century for its coal-caused smog. Air pollution of this type is still a problem in areas that generate significant smoke from burning coal.
Transportation emissions
Traffic emissions – such as from trucks, buses, and automobiles – also contribute. Airborne by-products from vehicle exhaust systems cause air pollution and are a major ingredient in the creation of smog in some large cities. The major culprits from transportation sources are carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO and NOx), volatile organic compounds, sulphur dioxide, and hydrocarbons. (Hydrocarbons are the main components of petroleum fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel.) These molecules react with sunlight, heat, ammonia, moisture, and other compounds to form the noxious vapors, ground level ozone, and particles that comprise smog.
Natural causes
An erupting volcano can also emit high levels of sulphur dioxide along with a large quantity of particulate matter; two key components to the creation of smog. However, the smog created as a result of a volcanic eruption is often known as vog to distinguish it as a natural occurrence.
Photochemical smog
Photochemical smog is the chemical reaction of sunlight, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere, which leaves airborne particles and ground-level ozone. This noxious mixture of air pollutants may include the following:
- Aldehydes
- Nitrogen oxides, particularly nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide
- Peroxy acetyl nitrates
- Tropospheric ozone
- Volatile organic compounds
Primary and Secondary pollutants
A primary pollutant is an air pollutant emitted directly from a source. A secondary pollutant is not directly emitted as such, but forms when other pollutants (primary pollutants) react in the atmosphere. Examples of a secondary pollutant include ozone, which is formed when hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) combine in the presence of sunlight; nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is formed as nitric oxide (NO) combines with oxygen in the air; and acid rain, which is formed when sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides react with water. All of these harsh chemicals are usually highly reactive and oxidizing. Photochemical smog is therefore considered to be a problem of modern industrialization. It is present in all modern cities, but it is more common in cities with sunny, warm, dry climates and a large number of motor vehicles. Because it travels with the wind, it can affect sparsely populated areas as well.