Air Pollution: The Impact to our Health and Environment

From time to time, the air quality that we breathed every day is getting worsen. People seem not to care about the air pollution and the health of themselves nor earth. 

In fact, the air pollution really creates harmful impacts to our lives, such as respiratory diseases and climate change. 

What is Air Pollution 

Air pollution is a mix of particles and gases that can reach harmful concentrations both outside and indoors. When people breathed the air pollution, they are likely to get exposed to the harmful particles such as smoke, mould, pollen, methane, and carbon dioxide.  

Health Issues 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are about 4.2 million premature deaths in 2016, about 90% of them in low-and middle-income countries. 

Indoor air pollution are 5 times worse than the outdoor. There are many pollution sources such as walls, carpets, AC, kitchen appliances and other furniture that can release smoke, dust and other harmful particles that can pollute the indoor. 

People exposed to high enough levels of certain air pollutants may experience: 

• Irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat 
• Wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and breathing difficulties 
• Worsening of existing lung and heart problems, such as asthma 
• Increased risk of heart attack 

In addition, long-term exposure to air pollution can cause cancer and damage to the immune, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems. In extreme cases, it can even cause death. 

Environmental Impacts 

Here are the 5 lists of negative effects of air pollution: 

Climate Change 

Due to climate change, the mass of the poles is melting, and this is leading to flooding and the rising of sea levels. 

Acid Rain 

It happens when the sulphur dioxide (S02) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are accumulated in the atmosphere and react with water, they will form dilute solutions of nitric and sulphuric acid, and when those concentrations become rain, both environment and surfaces suffer. 

Smog Effect 

It is kind of dark fog concentrated over the cities and fields. It contains of sulphurous smog and photochemical smog, both dangerous and harmful to health. 

Extinction of Animal Species 

The animals will lose their habitat since the deforestation activities are increasing and they do not have a place to live. It goes the same to the sea animals where the ice masses of the poles melt and increase the sea levels, the lives of the sea animals live are threatened 

Deterioration in building materials 

Human are greedy and build many building and infrastructure without them knowing it leads to degenerated our ground that will leads to the weakened, eroded, or destroyed the infrastructure at rate over time.