2. WHAT IS AIR
POLLUTION?
Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and
gases in the air.
Car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust,
pollen and mold spores may be suspended as
particles.
Ozone, a gas, is a major part of air pollution in
cities. When ozone forms air pollution, it's also
called smog.
Some air pollutants are poisonous.
3. HOW DOES AIR POLLUTION
AFFECT HUMAN
• One third of deaths from stroke, lung
cancer, and heart disease are
because or due to ai pollution.
• Microscopic pollutants in the air can
slip past our body's defenses,
penetrating deep into our
respiratory and circulatory system,
damaging our lungs, heart and brain.
4. HOW DID AIR POLLUTION START?
Air pollution is caused by solid and liquid particles
and certain gases that are suspended in the air.
These particles and gases can come from car and
truck exhaust, factories, dust, pollen, mold
spores, volcanoes and wildfires. The solid and
liquid particles suspended in our air are called
aerosols.
5. HOW CAN WE HELP TO GET
RID OF AIR POLLUTION?
• Riding a bike or walking instead of driving.
• Taking a bus or carpooling.
• Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
• Use a fan instead of air conditioning.
• Wash laundry in cold water and line dry.
• Paint with a brush instead of a sprayer.
• Choose renewable energy.
• You can still use cars, but the electric ones
are better.
6. HOW TO IMPORVE
INDOOR AIR?
1. Keep it clean. A clean house may be a
healthier house, because
good indoor hygiene can greatly cut down
on dust and animal dander.
2. Keep the greenery outdoors.
3. Change your filters.
4. Invest in an air purifier.
5. Let the fresh air in.
6. Use inddor plants.
7. Keep moisture under control.
7. HOW CAN WE
PROTECT
OURSELVES?
Where a mask in the city.
Try exercising during off hours and avoid exercising outdoors during
the most pollutant-heavy times of the day.
Use less energy in your home.
Invest in a good quality air purifier and more importantly, try
cleaning in on a regular basis.
Don't allow anyone to smoke indoors and support measures to
make all public places tobacco-free.
Walk, bike or carpool. Combine trips. Use buses, subways, light rail
systems, commuter trains or other alternatives to driving your car.
9. HISTORICAL DESASTER
The worst short-term civilian pollution crisis
in the world was the Bhopal disaster in India
in 1984. The industrial steam leaked from the
Union Carbide Plant in the United States
caused at least 3,787 deaths and 150,000 to
600,000 injuries. The heavy fog that formed
over London on December 4, 1952 caused Britain
to suffer the most serious air pollution
incident. Within six days, more than 4,000
people died, and the latest estimate is close
to 12,000. In 1979, a biological warfare
laboratory near Sverdlovsk in the former
Soviet Union accidentally leaked anthrax
spores, which is believed to have killed at
least 64 people. The worst air pollution
incident in the United States occurred in
Donola, Pennsylvania in late October 1948,
when 20 people were killed and more than 7,000
were injured.
10. "FUN" FACTS
• Air pollution kills 800 people every hour or 13 every minute.
• Air pollution is one of the UK’s (and the world’s) biggest killers.
• Children are most vulnerable to air pollution – but we are all
affected.
• A child born today might not breathe clean air until they are 8.
• Sitting inside a car can be more dangerous for your health.
• About 11 million cars were designed to cheat air pollution
tests.
• Air pollution makes climate change worse.
• Plants can filter pollution.
• When California’s stay-at-home order due to COVID-19 went
into effect in March 2020, Los Angeles air quality improved by
20 percent and now has one of the cleanest air of any major
city in the world.