Effects of air pollution

Effects of Air Pollution

What is Air Pollution?

Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants into the air that are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole.The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air (made up of various gases) called the atmosphere. 
The atmosphere helps protect the Earth and allow life to exist. Without it, we would be burned by the intense heat of the sun during the day or frozen by the very low temperatures at night.

Any additional gas, particles or odours that are introduced into the air (either by nature or human activity) to distort this natural balance and cause harm to living things can be called air pollution.

Environmental damages

Ecologically, air pollution can cause serious environmental damages to the groundwater, soil, and air.It is also a serious threat to the diversity of life. Studies on the relationship between air pollution and reducing species diversity clearly show the detrimental effects of environmental contaminants on the extinction of animals and plants species.Air suspended toxicants may also cause reproductive effects in animals.Acid rain, temperature inversion, and global climate changes due to the emissions of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere are other major ecological impacts of air pollution.

Air pollutants and their toxicities

Every material in the air which could affect human health or have a profound impact on the environment is defined as air pollutants. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), particle pollution, ground-level O3, CO, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and lead (Pb) are the six major air pollutants which harm human health and also the ecosystem. There are many pollutants of suspended materials such as dust, fumes, smokes, mists, gaseous pollutants, hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and halogen derivatives in the air which at the high concentrations cause vulnerability to many diseases including different types of cancers.The most important air pollutants and their toxic effects on different human body organs and related diseases have been briefly described below.

There are two types of pollutants:

Primary pollutants: are those gases or particles that are pumped into the air to make it unclean. They include carbon monoxide from automobile (cars) exhausts and sulfur dioxide from the combustion of coal.

Secondary pollutants: When pollutants in the air mix up in a chemical reaction, they form an even more dangerous chemical. Photochemical smog is an example of this, and is a secondary pollutant.

Bibliography

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5122104/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/pollution/http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/air-pollution/what-is-air-pollution.html