What causes air pollution? What impact does it have on the environment and our health?

Why does air pollution occur?

When dangerous gases and particles are present in our air, this is referred to as air pollution.
Nine out of ten people worldwide breathe dirty air, yet many people are not aware of the
possible negative effects of poor air quality on their health and the environment. What you
should know is as follows.

When dangerous gases and chemicals are discharged into the atmosphere, air pollution results.
These pollutants include sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter (extremely
minute particles that enter our respiratory system).

The bulk of these pollutants are released by human activity, including burning fossil fuels,
driving, and emissions from industry and agriculture.

What impact does pollution have on our health?

Our health is significantly impacted by air pollution, which also shortens lives and lowers quality
of life. In actuality, it poses the greatest single environmental health concern in the globe. It
makes breathing problems worse and raises the possibility of asthma episodes, which results in
more hospital admissions. Serious medical disorders including cancer, heart attacks, and strokes
can be brought on by prolonged exposure. In actuality, air pollution contributes to one in three
global fatalities from heart attacks, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases.
We are all impacted, but those in our society who are most at danger—particularly children and
the elderly—are at greater risk. Children who are exposed to air pollution may experience
respiratory problems and lung development delays.

A growing corpus of studies has also revealed linkages between air pollution and other diseases
like diabetes, children's developmental issues, and dementia.
What are the effects of air pollution on the environment?
A large variety of sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions also contribute to air pollution.
Warmer temperatures result from greenhouse gases trapping Earth's heat in the atmosphere,
which exacerbates climate change.

Additionally, poor soil and water quality can have an effect on ecosystems and fauna.