In 1952, there was a fog that lasted for five full days in London, which was quite deadly for the people of London. The fog was so dense and reduced visibility so much that people couldn’t even find their homes.
Fog may sound like a simple natural phenomenon to everyone under normal conditions, but that year in London we can say that it had such a catastrophic effect, in fact, it was a bit human-made.
The source of the fog is essentially it was air pollution and it was the factories in London that created this pollution. Of course, that wasn’t the main factor; In London that year, the temperature was far below normal. In other words, due to these cold weather, factories and power plants have to be able to provide their production. too much coal consumed. As you can see, the fact that factories caused air pollution was so that people could continue to live. Let’s look at the rest of the story together.
The biggest contributor to the lethal smog was coal policy, which caused air pollution.
The coal policy implemented at that time in England in 1952, profit oriented It was based on an understanding. In other words, high-quality coals were exported, and the people of the city used low-quality coal. Thus, sulfur dioxide, which is released when low quality coals are burned, is chemically converted to sulfuric acid. air pollution was occurring.
Here is the detail that ignited the fuse of the main event at that time. there was no wind blowing and thus, because the polluted air did not spread into the atmosphere, it was trapped in its environment. On top of that, electric trams were phased out at that time, and people started using diesel-powered buses. Afterwards, the entire city was suddenly covered in a deadly fog.
The consequences of this event were not heartwarming at all, because even if he survived, people suffered from numerous health problems.
When this life-destroying fog finally came to an end with the winds blowing from London towards the North Sea, the wreckage it left behind was very serious. The British Ministry of Health, those who apply due to respiratory diseases during this period increased the number of stated.
In fact, 6,000 deaths caused by different lung diseases such as bronchitis and respiratory tract infections were recorded by the ministry. Researches conducted after the event show that this number, to 12,000 He’s talking about coming out. We can say that the event was one of the most prominent events of its period in every sense.
In fact, due to this event, prepared in 1956, reducing air pollution The Clean Air Act emerged, which was defined on behalf of and encompasses various measures. The law became primary legislation in 1968 that limited air pollution from commercial and industrial causes as well as sand, dust and smoke from various fires. Unfortunately, the precaution was taken after the incident broke out, and even though many people were harmed, we can still say that it was the beginning of a good development for environmentalism.
Resources: Flashbak, Evolution Tree, Britannica
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