Air pollution can affect our health in many ways with both short-term and long-term effects. Different groups of individuals are affected by air pollution in different ways. Some individuals are much more sensitive to pollutants than are others. Young children and elderly people often suffer more from the effects of air pollution. People with health problems such as asthma, heart and lung disease may also suffer more when the air is polluted. The extent to which an individual is harmed by air pollution usually depends on the total exposure to the damaging chemicals, i.e., the duration of exposure and the concentration of the chemicals must be taken into account. Examples of short-term effects include irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, and upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Other symptoms can include headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can aggravate the medical conditions of individuals with asthma and emphysema. In the great "Smog Disaster" in London in 1952, four thousand people died in a few days due to the high concentrations of pollution. Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly. It is estimated that half a million people die prematurely every year in the United States as a result of smoking cigarettes. Not only does Air Pollution affect our health, it also affects many other things like buildings and the environment. If you thought that was bad enough, read this.
How Air Pollution Affects Buildings Contemporary air pollutants have the potential to degrade organic coatings and polymers, which are of great importance to modern structures, while increasing amounts of fine diesel soot spoil the simple lines and smooth areas characteristic of many modern buildings For a reference on how many people have died and how many tones of CO2 has been emitted, go towww.breathingearth.net to find out more.
Also, if the ozone layer does thinner even more in the future, the ozone hole will become even bigger and the ozone will thinner leading to more UV penetrating our Earth and cause even more harmful radiation which can be disastrous and deadly but silent. It may cause cancers, especially skin, as our skin is exposed to the sunlight which has UV rays the most.
For the greenhouse effects, the results are potentially hazardous and consequences are dire. We will suffer if we don't do something. It is been proven as the temperature becomes warmer, the ice caps receive the most heat and they melt and causing floods in low lying areas and submerging many, many islands. Many people will have to find a new home and similarly for people who live the near rivers, the ice caps on mountain tops will melt quickly and every year we have lesser water supply as the ice has melted off faster then it should be and causing arable land to reduce. Also, heat transfer around the world will be imbalanced, especially when it hits summer heat waves can kill and in winter if the weather is so warm it may fall rain, not snow.
Overall, this is a indirect effect but slowly we can feel it as the climate gets hotter and we need to do something fast and everyone should help out. We can stop these disastrous things from happening if we all as one people help out altogether. In the next topic, we are going to sum up what you can do about all this before it gets really messy.
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