![]() Even in 1962, then years after the original Great Smog of London, another London Smog incident killed around 750 people.īut the Clean Air Act was the start of a substantial shift in how the environment was considered. Even with these sweeping changes it still took many more years for polluted fog to disappear from the city altogether. Once the Clean Air Act was passed in 1956, it banned black smoke emissions and regulated both residential and industrial fuels. The most obvious action that came from this disaster was the 1956 Clean Air Act and those that followed.īut none of this happened overnight and it took four years for the legislation to be passed. The Great Smog of London was so dire, its effects so widespread, that it acted as a catalyst for change. The deadly effects of the smog of 1952 did eventually have a positive impact on environmental policy. Thus, the foetid air from factories and homes was stuck at ground level, unable to rise. This was an inversion whereby the air on the ground was cooler than that above. On 5 December, the requisite high-pressure system materialised over London in the form of an anticyclone. Firstly, a cold snap in early December that year had caused a marked increase in the use of coal. And that’s what happened to bring on the Great Smog of 1952. ![]() But when there is a high-pressure weather system, they become trapped. Normally, pollutants can disperse into the air. The burning of coal as the main source of heat had long been a major contributor, but it was also industrialisation and expansion from the 18th century onwards that seriously exacerbated the issue.īut pollution alone does not cause smog. The main reason for this grim phenomenon was pollution. So much so, the murky air became known as “London fog” or as a “pea-souper”. It had been a feature of city life to some extent since the 13th century. Many animals asphyxiated as well.īy 1952, London was no stranger to smog. It is now believed that between 8,000 and 12,000 died as a result of the 1952 London Smog. The death toll, initially estimated at 4,000, resulted in a coffin shortage and would remain high for years to come. Breathing problems skyrocketed, with unprecedented cases of bronchitis and pneumonia. But much more pertinently, it was poisoned with thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide, hydrochloric acid, smoke particles and much more besides. The air was densely contaminated, pollution giving it a brownish-yellow hue, not to mention a foul odour. This was smog, a portmanteau of smoke and fog, and by far the worst London had experienced. Everything from pavements to faces became coated in a dark film of grease. Even indoor pursuits were affected, with cloudy theatres cancelling performances nobody could see. ![]() From 5 to 9 December, the air throughout the city became a near-opaque fog, so thick that travel was all but halted and abandoned cars littered the roads. The Great Smog of London refers to a period of five days in 1952 during which the city was beset by a deadly environmental phenomenon.
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