Tuesday 7 September 2010

The London Smog Disaster Of 1952


The Great Smog of 1952 was a severe air pollution event that affected London in December 1952. A period of cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants mostly from the use of coal to form a thick layer of smog over the city.

It was not thought to be a significant event at the time but in the following weeks however, medical reports estimated that 4,000 people had died prematurely and 100,000 more were made ill because of the smog's effects on the human respiratory tract. More recent research suggests that the number of fatalities was considerably higher at around 12,000.

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