What happened in London in 1952? We know that this year The fog killed 12,000 people in London. but why, what happened? In this article we will tell you in detail, taking into account that this is considered the worst pollution in Europe. join us!
What happened in 1952 in London
In December 1952 in London a fog formed that killed 12,000 peoplethe nitrogen dioxide turned into toxic gas and this was the reason why so many people died.
This was one of the worst london stories, because although the city is associated with rain and fog, it was never thought that this misfortune could occur. But what happened so that nitrogen dioxide was transformed into toxic gas?
The fog attached to smoke that give off the factories and the coal burning houses for heating, they created a thick coat which covered London for five days causing 12,000 dead and 100,000 wounded.
London smog of 1952
This is considered the worst european pollution and it is that until now it has not been discovered why this fog was lethal causing so many deaths and injuries. Different scientists from the United States, London, China and Israel have shown that London smog contained NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and that when burning the coal, sulfur dioxide is converted into sulfuric acid mixing with the mist.
The scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has published this research and analysis by scientists, including Renyi Zhang and William Collins.
Zhang explains this event by saying that the natural fog evaporated and what remained, covering the entire London capital, was a fog made up of acid particles generated by sulfate.
Solutions for the future
The discoveries of this study must serve to combat pollution in large cities such as China, for this it is necessary to reduce carbon dioxide emissions of nitrogen from cars and factories, reduce ammonia use that they use for fertilizers and serves to avoid the creation of sulfates.
Although there are laws, in London since 1956 Churchill approved the Clean Air Actsince it almost cost him his seat in Parliament, bans sulfur in fuels and the burning of oil and coal in the British capital.
Even so, the pollution levels in London exceed the European directives and some NGOs propose some measures.
pollution measures
Air pollution is a very serious problem and there are studies such as those published by the NGO ClientEarth.org where they say that premature deaths in the United Kingdom are caused by air pollution, proposing the following measures to improve pollution.
- Do not encourage the use of diesel cars
- Encourage the use of public transport to reduce the volume of traffic
- Transportation that does not pollute, such as bicycles.
- Make the population aware of the risks that polluted air produces on our health